Saskatchewan firefighters are doing their part in battling blazes all over B.C. this summer.

A group of 31 firefighters returned to the province Tuesday afternoon after spending the last two weeks on the B.C. front lines.

Lee-Ann McTaggart, who works out of the Prince Albert Fire Centre, served in a logistics role in the Telegraph Creek area in the far north of B.C.

She says a less severe fire season in Saskatchewan this summer has enabled the province to send its firefighters to help out in other parts of the country.

“If we didn’t have the crew that we have and everything, we wouldn’t be able to go out there,” she says. “So, I mean, we are very hard working people and we are there to help out our provinces and everything as much as we can.”

Owen Price is an official with Saskatchewan Wildfire Management who oversaw a group of firefighters in the Prince George area.

He says provincial firefighters faced some very challenging conditions while on the front lines during the past 14 days.

“The environmental conditions were unbelievable,” he says. “The smoke conditions, the haze, the days of not being able to use aircraft on fires because of smoke and the haze. Things I’ve never seen to that extent in my career within wildfire management.”

The firefighters returned to Saskatchewan via the Prince Albert airport.

(PHOTO: Saskatchewan firefighters exit plane at Prince Albert airport on their way back from B.C. Photo courtesy Paul Spasoff, Saskatchewan Environment)