Although this wildfire season isn’t the worst in Canada’s history, if the trajectory continues, and it’s supposed to, it very well could be.
That was part of the message at the Prime Minister’s wildfire update Monday morning. Prime Minister Trudeau says due to climate change, Canada is seeing more intense wildfires in places where they don’t normally happen.
The Government of Canada has approved three requests for federal assistance in fighting wildfires from Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the assistance will include deploying Canadian Armed Forces members for things such as engineering support, additional personnel to fight fires, and airlift resources. So far this year, there has been 2214 wildfires nationally, and an estimated 26,000 people remain evacuated from their homes.
Although the situation is very serious, Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair, says over the weekend Alberta rescinded their state of emergency, and rain has brought much needed relief to Nova Scotia. The federal government and the Government of Alberta are coordinating a donation matching program with the Canadian Red Cross. Every dollar donated will become three dollars to help those affected in Alberta. Similar matching programs will be developed in Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.
Currently in Saskatchewan, there are 23 active wildfires. Four of them are contained, 13 under ongoing assessment, two where the focus is to protect property, and four are not contained.
