Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said the images of wildfires burning across Canada were among the deadliest ever witnessed in the country and forecast for the next few months for found the possibility of forest fire activity continuing to be higher than usual.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center says there are currently 415 fires burning. About 2,285 fires have burned 37,000 square kilometers since the beginning of the year
Here’s a look at the current wildfire situation as of Tuesday afternoon:
NOVA SCOTIA
There are five active wildfires. The province has recorded 212 so far this year, double the number in an average year. About 267 square kilometers were burned.
A fire broke out in late May on the outskirts of Halifax, destroying about 200 structures, including 151 homes. About 16,500 people were initially forced out of their homes, and the city says about 4,100 residents are still displaced.
A fire in Shelburne County in southwestern Nova Scotia, billed as the largest fire in the province’s history with an area of about 250 square kilometers, remains uncontained. The province said 150 structures were lost, including about 60 houses.
QUÉBEC
The province has reported more than 150 forest fires, of which at least 110 are out of control. Since the beginning of the year, fires have burned more than 1,730 square kilometers.
Premier Francois Legault said the Abitibi-Temiscamingue area in northwest Quebec was an area of particular concern, with the communities of Normetal and Lebel-sur-Quevillon under threat.
Fires have forced about 10,000 people from their homes, mainly in the northwestern Atibibi region and the eastern Cote-Nord region.
ALBERTA
There are 64 wildfires burning across the province, 18 of which are out of control. A total of 590 wildfires have burned about 12,016 square kilometers this year.
Officials recently lifted the province-wide state of emergency, put in place May 6 to expedite the coordination of firefighting resources and assist evacuees. At one point in early May, about 29,000 people left their homes in various communities.
About 4,300 are still being evacuated. Evacuation orders apply to Fort Chipewyan, Dene Tha’ First Nation, Fox Lake, Chipewyan Lake and surrounding areas, and parts of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation. Garden River is under evacuation warning.
SASKATCHEWAN
There are 25 wildfires burning fiercely, four of which are not contained.
The province has recorded 201 fires this year, compared with the five-year average of 135.
Many residents in northern Saskatchewan have yet to leave their homes. Community members identified as high risk were evacuated last week from La Loche and the Clearwater River Dene Nation.
Indigenous Services Canada said about 400 evacuees arrived from first countries.
Northwest Territories
There are 11 wildfires burning across the territory. A total of 21 wildfires have burned nearly 3,833 square kilometers this year.
Residents of the K’at’lodeeche First Nation are still displaced as a fire damaged several buildings on the reserve, including the band’s office. The fire is classified as under control and was last mapped to an area of 32 square kilometers.
The nearby town of Hay River, where residents were allowed to return on May 25 after an evacuation order lasted nearly two weeks, remains on alert.
An out-of-control wildfire of more than 2,490 square kilometers is burning 10 kilometers from Sambaa K’e, near the Alberta border. The community was evacuated last week. A house was destroyed in an ignition operation.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
There are 78 active wildfires, 24 of which are out of control. A total of 382 fires have burned more than 4,563 square kilometers this year.
The BC Wildfire Service said an out-of-control fire was burning north of Fort St. John’s Fire, estimated to be more than 2,400 square kilometers, is the second-largest fire in the province’s history.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 6, 2023.
By Emily Blake in Yellowknife
This story was produced with the financial support of Meta and the Canadian Press News Scholarship.
