Several Canadian provinces have experienced major forest fires in recent weeks. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated for a month, due to the rapid progression of the flames.
Canada is experiencing a catastrophic spring on the fire front. Almost all the provinces of the country are affected by gigantic fires which have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate in recent weeks. After the west of the country and the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan at the beginning of May, it is the turn of Nova Scotia and Quebec to be affected by huge fires due to hot weather and dry.
In total, more than 2.7 million hectares have already burned in 2023 in the country, eight times more than the average of the last three decades, according to Canadian authorities. And there are currently 214 active fires, 93 of them out of control, nationwide. “It’s a scary time for many people from coast to coast”, said Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, Friday, June 2. Franceinfo returns, in images, to the extent and progression of these fires which are ravaging part of the country.
The fires started ravaging the western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in early May. Here in Drayton Valley on May 8, 2023. (WALTER TYCHNOWICZ / AFP)
A man watches his house destroyed by flames in Drayton Valley, Alberta, May 8, 2023. Several tens of thousands of people were evacuated from these communities in the past month. (WALTER TYCHNOWICZ / AFP)
As of May 11, 2023, when this photo was taken, almost 400,000 hectares had already burned in the province of Alberta since the start of the year. (MEGAN ALBU / AFP)
Faced with the violence of the fires, as here in Entrance, Canada had to turn to its neighbors and allies, such as the United States and Mexico, to fight the flames. (MEGAN ALBU / AFP)
After the west of the country, eastern Canada is also experiencing major fires, like here near Barrington Lake, on May 28, 2023. (HANDOUT / NOVA SCOTIA GOVERNMENT / AFP)
As of June 1, 2023, the country’s authorities announce that more than 2.7 million hectares have burned in Canada since the beginning of the year, eight times more than the average of the last 30 years. (HANDOUT / NOVA SCOTIA GOVERNMENT / AFP)
The progression of the fires in eastern Canada causes clouds of smoke, on May 31, 2023, in the northeastern United States and in New York, where a polluted air alert was issued. (SELCUK ACAR / ANADOLU AGENCY / AFP)
The fires quickly progressed in Nova Scotia. In Tantallon, a suburb of Halifax, 16,000 people were evacuated on May 30, 2023. (HANDOUT / NOVA SCOTIA GOVERNMENT / AFP)
A helicopter drops water near the city of Halifax on June 1, 2023. There were still 214 active fires across the country as of Saturday, which firefighters are actively battling. (HANDOUT / NOVA SCOTIA GOVERNMENT / AFP)
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