Massachusetts wildland firefighter recounts two weeks fighting wildfires in Canada

The plumes of gray wildfire smoke that have blown into Massachusetts from Canada over the last few weeks appear to be taking a break for the holiday.

Air quality conditions have improved in the Boston area, but hundreds of wildfires are still burning up north. There were 71 active fires in the province of Quebec as of Monday.

The fires in Canada cover so much ground, the government has called in firefighters from at least 10 countries — from the U.S. to New Zealand.

James Kontoules is one of them. He's a wildland firefighter for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. He's based at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield.

Kontoules returned Friday from two weeks on the job in Canada. He and his fellow firefighters went as far as 12 hours northwest of Massachusetts, to the First Nations village and reserve of Obedjiwan.

Kontoules told WBUR's All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins that at times, the crew dropped into fire zones via helicopter and dealt with conditions very different from those here in Massachusetts.