A the pilot is dead andn a helicopter crash in the west Canada hefight forest fires that have devastated the country, police said on Thursday.

He is the third person to die fighting the huge fires after two firefighters were killed in separate operations last week.

His helicopter was reported missing early Wednesday morning and the plane was later located near the lake. Haig in the northern province of Alberta.

The plane “collided with the ground during firefighting operationsthe country’s Transportation Safety Board said, adding that the accident happened in a remote location.

The TSB said it has opened an investigation.

Logging workers performed CPR on the victim, who was the sole occupant of the helicopter, the agency said. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of the province in a press release.

The 41-year-old pilot was then transported to an airport where he was declared dead.

“it breaks my heart to learn that another Canadian bushfire fighter has lost his life,” the prime minister tweeted. Justin Trudeau.

“We will never forget your service to your province and our country,” he wrote.

More than 11 million hectares (27 million acres) have already burned this year, ten times the national average, the Minister of EnvironmentSteven Guilbeault, during an update on the state of the lights.

More than 880 fires were active in Canada on Thursday (with 13 new fires declared during the day). Between them, 546 were burning out of control.

The fires primarily destroy Boreal forestI am far from inhabited areaswhich means that there are few immediate risks for humans, but there are significant consequences for the environment.

what is canadais warming faster than the rest of the planet Due to its geography, it has faced extreme weather events that have increased in intensity and frequency due to climate change.

-AFP