The latest on wildfires and wildfire smoke in Canada
Canada is experiencing its worst wildfire season of the 21st century.
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair announced the grim milestone this week, saying more than 47,000 square kilometres have burned so far this year, with 431 wildfires currently burning across Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will continue to rely on foreign crews to help fight wildfires in the coming years in the face of ever-increasing extreme weather events. More reinforcements are to come from Portugal and Spain to help the situation in Quebec.
Storms across the country could bring much needed rain, but meteorologists say it’s not enough to stop the wildfire threat,
Follow updates from across the country below.
More firefighters to arrive from abroad to help wildfire battle
More firefighters from abroad are expected to arrive today to help battle Canada’s worst wildfire season of the 21st century.
Quebec’s public safety minister says more reinforcements are to come from Portugal and Spain.
François Bonnardel said Tuesday the fire effort has also been bolstered by the arrival this week of two contingents of firefighters from the United States.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will continue to rely on foreign crews to help fight wildfires in the coming years as extreme weather events become more frequent.
Trudeau told reporters in Saguenay, Que., today that Canada will count on other countries to send help, in the same way other countries depend on Canadian firefighters to help them in return.
He said wildfire seasons fall at different times around the world, which allows for a “travelling of resources” that helps protect communities all over.
Storms across the country could bring much needed rain, but meteorologists say it’s not enough to stop the wildfire threat.
A rainy forecast in Quebec was bringing hope for progress in battling the blazes, as more than 7,200 people remained out of their homes due to fires.
Rain is also in the forecast for a large portion of Western Canada, but thunderstorms and a risk of lightning come along with it.
About 14,000 people remained out of their homes in Alberta.
– The Canadian Press
Wildfire updates in B.C.
A key highway that connects Yukon and northern British Columbia to the rest of the province is now threatened by the huge Donnie Creek wildfire as the blaze chews through woodlands south of Fort Nelson.
The Peace River Regional District has posted an evacuation alert for a section of the Alaska Highway as out-of-control flames creep within two kilometres.
If the 4,875-square-kilometre blaze cuts the highway, residents north of Fort Nelson could face a more than 1,700-kilometre detour via highways 37 and 16, if they need to travel south by main roads.
Little rain from recent storms reached the Donnie Creek blaze Tuesday, but downpours around Dawson Creek calmed the nearly 200-square-kilometre Kiskatinaw wildfire, which remains out of control and within a few kilometres of the community of Tumbler Ridge, which was evacuated six days ago.
The BC Wildfire Service reports more than 80 active wildfires across the province, with 37 ranked as out of control, including those in the northeast and another on Vancouver Island, east of Port Alberni.
The wildfire that forced closure of the main highway connecting communities on the west side of Vancouver Island is now classified as “being held,” meaning it’s not likely to spread beyond the predetermined boundaries under current conditions.
– The Canadian Press
Wildfire updates in Quebec
Quebec officials say the rainfall over the past 24 hours in the northern part of the province was inadequate to douse the wildfires.
The province’s forest fire prevention agency – SOPFEU – says a wildfire near Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., continues to threaten the community located 620 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
Less than one millimetre of rain fell around the evacuated town – officials say at least 20 mm of precipitation is needed to snuff out the fire.
Fire agency official Sylvain Tremblay told reporters today that sufficient rainfall isn’t expected before temperatures rise again by the end of the week.
Tremblay says there are about 130 active fires across the province with 35 considered out of control.
Civil security official Jean Savard says 2,800 Quebecers – including roughly 2,000 from Lebel-sur-Quévillon – remain evacuated.
– The Canadian Press