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International Wildfire Support and Hurricane Relief
Mexico and Central America Wildfires	Canadian Wildfires
By mid May hundreds of wildfires were burning in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Smoke from these fires drifted into Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico causing visibility and health concerns. On May 15, the Mexican government requested technical assistance from the United States through the State Department to determine Mexico's needs in light of this emergency. The National Interagency Fire Center then coordinated requests from the US Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance for firefighting resources to be sent to Mexico and other Central American countries. During the next three weeks, technical specialists and equipment were sent to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Items included protective clothing and equipment, hand tools, portable weather kits and water containers. By the last week in June, the threatening wildfires had subsided. After the smoke cleared it was estimated that more than one million acres of land had burned in Mexico alone.	Canada experienced similar conditions to those in the southern United States, Mexico and Central America. A very wet winter followed by hot and dry conditions in the spring and summer created abundant dry vegetation for setting the stage for severe fires. Canadian fire managers responded to large fires throughout the entire summer. Two fires in Alberta burned more than 500,000 acres and forced nearby communities to evacuate. Wildland fire activity continued in Canada for several months. An agreement with the United States allowed Canadian officials to order needed supplies as the fires continued to burn. Numerous firefighting crews, infrared aircraft, radios, and other equipment and supplies were ordered through the National Interagency Fire Center. By late fall, Canada had reported 10,676 fires which burned about 11.4 million acres.
Hurricane Relief Efforts
In late August tropical storms began to develop in the Atlantic Ocean. Some of these storms evolved into intense hurricanes that threatened islands in the Caribbean and the United States east coast. Wildland fire resources were then requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist in relief efforts as these storms pounded coastal communities. Bonnie Through a request from FEMA, federal firefighting management teams assisted local communities when Hurricane Bonnie hit areas in North Carolina. Georges As Hurricane Georges approached islands in the Caribbean Sea and threatened Florida, national firefighting resources were again asked to assist with relief efforts. The National Interagency Fire Center responded to requests from FEMA to send fire personnel, equipment and supplies to Puerto Rico and the Gulf of Mexico states affected by the storm.
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