Wildfires in Kanda due to this year’s heat wave have become the worst this year. CANADIAN PICTURE
More than 210 forest areas were recorded burning yesterday, including 82 wildfires that got out of control. The disaster has destroyed more than 2.3 million hectares of forest this year, eight times the average for the past three decades.
“The (fire) situation at the start of the season was completely unexpected and certainly very concerning,” Emergency Preparedness Secretary Bill Blair said at a news conference in Ottawa.
After a series of major fires tore through western Canada last May, particularly in the prairies of Alberta and Saskatchewan, firefighting efforts shifted to Nova Scotia and the Atlantic coast over the past week.
The region rarely experiences the severe wildfires that occur after hot, dry weather moves east.
“Canada is dealing with the impacts of climate change such as increasingly frequent wildfires,” Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said, adding that damage from wildfires is expected to double by 2050. .
Meanwhile, in the Nova Scotia area, the Houston team experienced 16 fires yesterday. No less than 200 houses were destroyed and nearly 20,000 inhabitants were displaced.
“Our province has been severely traumatized,” Jonathan said.
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