2.7M Hectares Lost, Nova Scotia at Ground Zero in ‘Unprecedented’ Early Wildfire Season

An “unprecedented” early start to Canada’s wildfire season had Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair declaring 2.7 million hectares of forest destroyed, with crews combatting blazes from Atlantic Canada to British Columbia and Nova Scotia battling the flames in three subdivisions built with insufficient water to fight fires.

With 211 fires burning last Thursday morning, 82 out of them out of control, and tens of thousands of people forced out of their homes, “these conditions this early in the season are unprecedented,” Blair told media. But “due to climate change, similar extreme weather events may continue to increase in both frequency and severity across our country,” he added.

Blair had already pledged support for provinces and territories facing “extremely challenging” conditions. “We will do everything we can to support the people of Canada as they are being impacted by this extremely challenging wildfire season,” he told media last Monday. “It is frankly an all-hands-on-deck response to the challenges that people are facing.”

But the federal government is already concerned there won’t be enough people or equipment to fight the fires, and is looking ahead to the risk of firefighter burnout, with staff working “days on end in extremely harsh conditions”, the Globe and Mail reports.

Read the rest of this Canada-wide roundup here.