The western province of Alberta has been engulfed in fires since early May that have already burned more than half a million acres of forest and grassland and destroyed many homes and businesses.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published on 05/18/2023 at 07:42
This content is not accessible to all.
A fire near Fox Lake, in the province of Alberta, Canada May 16, 2023. ALBERTA WILDFIRE/ Portal
Canada on Wednesday (May 17) launched an appeal for international help to fight the wildfires in the west of the country, which are spreading and are now affecting four different regions. “The situation in Alberta remains very worrying and dangerous and one of the challenges is that we now also have a significant number of fires that have broken out in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories,” said Bill Blair, Canada’s Minister for Fire public safety. told reporters.
The country is therefore “awaiting help from other countries – the United States, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand,” he added. So far, the province of Alberta, one of the largest oil-producing regions in the world, has been hit hardest by the fires, which have already burned more than half a million hectares of forest and grassland and destroyed many homes and businesses.
This content is not accessible to all.
“Summer will be difficult”
Around 2,500 firefighters from across Canada and 400 military personnel have been deployed to the province to try to control the fires, 27 of which are currently out of control. On the British Columbia side, the country’s westernmost province, around 60 fires were active Wednesday, including 15 uncontrolled. “There is no doubt that the summer will be difficult and we will need help,” said Josee St-Onge, spokesman for the Alberta charity.
” ALSO READ – How to explain the violence of the fires that have already devastated 400,000 hectares in Canada?
“Given the amount of fires we are seeing right now, unless there is a significant change in weather that brings a lot of moisture, it will take months to bring them under control,” she added, speaking of a “long fight”. Thousands of people threatened by the blaze were also evacuated in the Northwest Territories region.
A very dry month of April
“I miss my home. I hope to find her, but I was told that she burned down,” Debra Chambaud told public broadcaster CBC. “I don’t want to think about it too much, but it’s difficult,” she added She added when she found refuge more than 500 kilometers from her village.This tribal woman lost her home in a fire two years ago that killed her son.
At the evacuee center in Yellowknife, the territory’s capital, she’s not the only one in shock. “Our house burned down. We have nothing left. All my photos, all our heirlooms are gone. Everything we had is gone,” said Lorne Poitras, father of two.
Western Canada experienced a very dry April followed by record temperatures since early May and strong winds. In recent years, this part of the world has been repeatedly hit by extreme weather events, the intensity and frequency of which have increased due to global warming.
This content is not accessible to all.