(Ottawa) The forest fires raging across the country may only be a taste of what awaits us for the summer season. Already, the area burned and the number of fires are unprecedented across the country for this time of year and it is still spring.
From the outset, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a warning at a press conference on Monday. “Our modeling shows that the wildfire season could be particularly severe throughout the summer,” he warned.
These simulations are “sobering,” according to Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The maps unveiled by his ministry paint almost the entire country in dark red, which means that the risk will be well above average. Western Quebec and much of Ontario are in light red, which means that the fire danger will be above average in July and August. The only exception is the eastern part of Quebec and the Atlantic provinces where the risk will remain average.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson participated in Monday’s press conference via video.
“It shows us that this already devastating season could get much worse,” Wilkinson said, careful to add that “hopefully” that doomsday scenario might not materialize. The federal government is still preparing for the worst.
Every province and territory will need to be on high alert throughout this wildfire season. While it’s not yet Canada’s most severe fire season, it could very well become one if this trajectory continues.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources
Never have we seen such a large area consumed in the spring. The flames ravaged nearly 3.3 million hectares of forest. To date, there have been 2,214 fires that started much earlier than usual due to hot, dry weather.
Most of these fires are extinguished, but 413 are currently active, of which 249 are considered out of control. “The situation is dynamic and the numbers even change every hour,” said Mike Norton, director of the Northern Forestry Center, a research center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, during a briefing.
The most recent federal map shows fires in almost every province and territory except Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Nunavut. Officials said the most critical situation is in Quebec where many fires were started by lightning.
In all, 26,206 people are currently being evacuated in five of the ten Canadian provinces and one of the three territories. Since the beginning of the year, 120,000 people have had to leave their homes at one time or another because of the forest fires.
“It’s a scary time for a lot of people not just in Alberta, but across the country, including the Atlantic, the North and Quebec as well,” Trudeau said. He reiterated Ottawa’s support for the affected provinces and territories.
The federal government has responded to three requests for assistance to date, namely those from Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta. Some 150 Canadian Armed Forces soldiers have been deployed to the Sept-Îles region to support the work of the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU).
Each province is responsible for fighting forest fires within its territory, but they can get help from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Nearly 200 firefighters have been deployed to other provinces. Firefighters from the United States, New Zealand and South Africa also came to help. They are 957 in total and we expect a hundred from France.