Wildfires: Canada needs international help

Canada is appealing for international help as wildfires rage across the country’s west. Public Safety Secretary Bill Blair said in the capital Ottawa on Wednesday:

Another challenge is that there are now significant fires in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Therefore, Canada is now addressing “other countries, the United States, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand” and asking them for help.

Wildfires continue to spread across Canada. Particularly devastating: “The land is burning up to a meter from the ground,” said ZDF reporter Johannes Hanno in Edson.

05/16/2023 | 03:02 min

About 2,500 firefighters and 400 soldiers from across the country battled the blaze in the province alone, of which 27 are currently out of control.

In the western province of British Columbia, 60 fires broke out on Wednesday, 15 of which are believed to be out of control. Major railway lines and infrastructure have also been affected by the massive wildfires.

Thousands of people have been evacuated due to wildfires in the Northwest Territories. Alberta Emergency Services spokeswoman Josie St-Onge reiterated the need for international help.

More land has been destroyed by wildfires in Canada since the start of the year than in the previous five years. Countless people had to be evacuated.

05/15/2023 | 01:32 min

As for the number of fires, he said, “unless a significant change in the climate brings more moisture,” it will take months to tackle them. It will be a “long fight.”

It hasn’t rained in Western Canada since last fall; The soil is correspondingly very dry. Rainfall there has been very low in recent years. At the beginning of May, there were strong winds and temperatures up to 15 degrees above normal for the year.