Lansdowne RFS volunteer Stuart Johnson flys out to Canada

The Upper Lansdowne resident is part of a contingent of Aussies flying to Canada to battle more than 460 fires across the country, 240 of which are burning out of control.

RELATED: Bushfire inquiry report due as recommendations delayed

Despite the imposing distance presented by the mission, many within the firefighting community see it as a chance to return a favour.

"We lost our farm in the 2019 fires and the Canadians gave up their Christmas to be over here to help us, so it's only fitting that we do the same for them," Stuart said.

Stuart is a 13 year veteran of the Royal Australian Air Force, and as such has been involved in numerous international exercises throughout his service. As a member of the RFS he's taken part in two cleanup missions in Lismore following the catastrophic floods that struck the region in 2022.

But for the 38-year-old father of two, this will be his first overseas deployment as part of the RFS and he's looking forward to the challenge.

"I'm excited about it. Being part of the RFS mission gives a pride I've missed since being in the air force, and I think as Aussies we deem ourselves as always being ready to help when someone else is in trouble," Stuart said.

The mission will see him gone for more than a month in total, involving two 14 day stints assisting local firefighters, with two days rest and recovery in between.

Nearly 72,000 square kilometres of Canadian forest land has burned this year so far, with the last week registering another increase in the number of fires. Firefighters from around the world have joined forces with their Canadian colleagues to lend support.

While the scale of destruction caused by the fires is nothing short of epic, Stuart appears to be undaunted by the task and is eager to be part of the Aussie contingent working alongside the Canadians.

"I think they really enjoy the Aussies because we get stuck in and do the hard work and there's always some good banter and things like that," Stuart said.

Though at this stage he is unaware of what awaits him in Canada, like other RFS and Australian emergency personnel taking part in the operation, he's prepared to adapt to whatever presents itself on the ground.

"Because it's so remote, a lot of it will be moving around and a lot of chainsaw work, preparing firebreaks in the forests," Stuart said.

"They've said to pack small because we could be moving closer to front-line fires in choppers, in teams of smaller groups to be reactive to spot fires, or to clean up after fires and make sure that there's nothing there to start again."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: