Wildfires in Canada could last into summer

First modification: 06/11/2023 – 14:35

CanadaIt is one of the countries that is already experiencing an increase in temperature above average, and that the international community has promised to avoid. The fires that have plagued the country in recent weeks are a consequence of the effects of climate change and that the scientific community had already warned years ago: 4.6 million hectares have burned since the beginning of 2023.

CanadaIt is one of the countries that is already experiencing an increase in temperature above average, and that the international community has promised to avoid. The fires that have plagued the country in recent weeks are a consequence of the effects of climate change and that the scientific community had already warned years ago: 4.6 million hectares have burned since the beginning of 2023.

Western Canada has been particularly hard hit. After several days of truce, the fires intensified in Alberta, where on Friday night the city of Edson was evacuated for the second time since May.

“The fire is so out of control that some logging crews have had to pull back,” said Luc Mercier, chief administrative officer for Yellowhead County, where Edson is located. “They can’t fight this fire.”

In British Columbia, the town of Tumbler Ridge, population 2,400, was largely evacuated as the fire approached within a few miles of the town.

In Quebec, François Bonnardel, Minister of Public Security, declared this Saturday, June 11, that the situation was still complicated in the northwest of this province. “This is the first time this has happened in Quebec. We have never faced fires of this magnitude, to evacuate so many people,” he said, as some 14,000 people have been ordered to evacuate.

Canadian authorities and climatologists have repeated in recent days that the fires will continue during the summer, and that they could worsen.

with AFP