Fires intensified again in western Canada

The fires intensified again in western Canada, forcing the evacuation of several thousand people, while in the east, in Quebec, the authorities expect on Saturday a battle against the fire that will continue.all summer“.

After a few days of calm, fires resumed in Alberta. An evacuation order was issued Friday night for the town of Edson, population about 8,400, the second since early May. “The fire got so out of control that some forestry crews had to retreatLuke Mercier, managing director of Yellowhead County for the Edson area. “They cannot fight this fire“.

Hayley Waits left Edson with her children on Friday evening, accompanied by “A huge caravan of people.”When you panic about doing your best, all you can think about is saving yourselfshe told CBC. “But as soon as we leave by car we say to ourselves: + What if my house is no longer there when I return +?In northeastern British Columbia, the town of Tumbler Ridge, population 2,400, has been largely evacuated, after a fire broke out near the town a few kilometers away.

In Quebec, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonardel, said Saturday morning that the situation in the center and northwest of the province remains difficult, with several municipalities still threatened. Northeast fires arestable.”It is the first in Quebec history to fight so many fires and evacuate so many peopleHe didn’t say.We’re going to have a fight that we think will last all summeradded the minister

According to the Minister of Public Security, nearly 14,000 people are still under evacuation orders in Quebec. Across the country, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC) lists 416 active fires, including 203 that are out of control. Canada is having an unprecedented year with more than 4.6 million hectares burned since the start of the year, a total well above the average of recent decades.