Soldiers at work fighting Saskatchewan forest fires

Canadian soldiers have suited up in orange and are now fighting fires in Saskatchewan forests.

More than 500 members of the 3rd Canadian Division will be patrolling fire lines, putting out hot spots and performing logistical chores such as movinghoses.

Another convoy rolled out of Prince Albertin light armoured vehicles and trucksThursday morning, headed for the Montreal Lake area, about 100 kilometres to the north.

About 200Canadian Forces membershave already been deployed there. More arein the La Ronge area.

The soldiers, most of them with the1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's CanadianLight Infantry, have just gone through a crash course in firefighting and areassisting some 600 civilian firefighterswho've been on the ground for weeks.

More than 110 forest fires are burning in Saskatchewan's north and 54 communities have been evacuated.

One of the worst is a fire close to La Ronge that covers an area ofabout 90,000 hectares. That's considerably bigger than the combinedarea of all 16Saskatchewancities.

Some 13,000 people have been forced out of their homes. Many remain in emergency shelters in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert.