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Of a total of 86 fires that plague the province of Alberta, at least 23 remain uncontrolled. The conflagrations have burned tens of thousands of hectares and continue to force evacuations in various municipalities. So far no victims have been reported.
In cities like Calgary, in Alberta, citizens must walk with masks. The smoke from the 90 fires that hit this province has thickened in the streets.
According to the most recent report from local authorities, in this western Canadian province, the fires have burned at least 616,000 hectares, of which 95,000 burned only from Sunday to Tuesday.
The state of emergency is still active in 22 municipalities and nearly 20,000 citizens remain evacuated in reception centers that have been made available to citizens. No casualties have been reported.
“At this moment, no injuries have been reported to the Provincial Center for Emergency Coordination. That does not mean that the local authorities are not having injuries at the scene. (…) The good thing is that we have not had a fatality up to now said Colin Blair, executive director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.
Among the endangered populations are at least nine indigenous populations in the northwest of the country. The most affected are those of the Little Red River Cree indigenous nation, which is located about 550 kilometers north of the city of Edmonton, also in Alberta.
More reinforcements to fight the flames on the way
Christie Tucker, head of the Alberta Wildfire information unit, said there are currently 2,500 people, including firefighters and volunteers, fighting the fire in the province.
For his part, the Minister of Forest Parks and Tourism, Todd Loewen, urged local authorities to take stock of the impact of the fire and increase the number of firefighters to respond to the emergency. Some 1,000 people specialized in fire containment are expected to arrive in the coming days.
In satellite images you can see how the smoke columns extend from Alberta to the northern United States.
The emergency is also affecting air quality and visibility throughout the province and the local government has called on citizens to stay inside their homes to prevent poisoning.
Fires affect oil production in Canada
The Canadian Energy Regulator reported Tuesday that oil production in Alberta has fallen by about 4% as a result of the fires and indicated that several companies have been forced to reduce their operations due to personnel evacuation orders. .
Alberta is the main oil-producing region of Canada, which is in turn the fourth country with the world’s highest production of this fuel.
The fires have spread amid an unusual dryness in the territory, which has seen thermometers rise above 30 degrees Celsius during the past week, temperatures few times before recorded in the place.
With Reuters and EFE
