The Ontario Provincial Police and Canadian Armed Forces will be holding joint “extreme heat scenario simulation” operations next week in Bruce County and Huron County.

Between May 3 and 5, the Huron County OPP will join 800 army reservists led by the 31 Canadian Brigade Group as part of an operation called the “Trillium Venture”.

The scenario is expected to involve soldiers conducting various fire training exercises, performing wellness checks and simulated search-and-rescue operations, setting up cooling stations, etc.

Through the simulation, the army is hoping to improve its interoperable ability to work with other governmental departments in responding to a simulated extreme heat scenario.

The headquarters of the Trillium Venture is the Blyth Community Centre and will encompass roughly 250 kilometres from southern Huron County to Lion’s Head in Bruce County, according to The Sun Times.

Public told to expect military presence across both counties

Lt. Col. Christopher van den Berg encouraged the public to come out and view the operation and told Blyth community members to expect to see the reservists from the Domestic Response Companies and Territorial Battalion Group along with sustainment equipment and vehicles in towns across the county.

“I encourage anybody with interest to come on out and see what it is that we’re doing,” van den Berg said, adding, “The exercise will provide a valuable learning experience for our troops.”

However, the military also said that while the members of the public are free to view the operations, some caution should be taken when approaching vehicles or troops and that efforts would be made to minimize any inconveniences in the area.

According to Maj. Adrian Dereniowski, “From a messaging perspective, when we leave this exercise May 5, there will be no region in Ontario more prepared for a domestic operation because of that networking that’s happened.”