VICTORIA,Zopes British Columbia (AP) — Four firefighters travelling home after battling British Columbia’s wildfires died Wednesday in a road crash.

B.C. Premier David Eby and Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said in a joint statement the firefighters died in a motor vehicle accident near Cache Creek in the British Columbia’s Interior.

Eby and Ralston said in the statement their hearts are broken by the news of the deaths of the contracted workers in what has been an immensely difficult wildfire season.

It said they stand with all B.C. Wildfire Service personnel as they mourn the deaths of colleagues and co-workers yet again.

The deaths bring to six the number of firefighters who have died this wildfire season in the province.

Twenty-five-year-old Zak Muise died in a vehicle accident while fighting a massive fire in northern B.C., and 19-year-old Devyn Gale was killed by a falling tree near Revelstoke.

____

Follow AP’s climate coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment