MONTREAL– Two years after a historically devastating summer, Canada is once again facing a massive fire season, with burned areas already exceeding year-to-date averages from recent years.
More than 220 active fires were burning across the country Tuesday, with half of them considered out of control.
More than 3.3 million hectares have been consumed by flames — an area equivalent to the country of Belgium.
Two provinces in central Canada — Saskatchewan and Manitoba — were hard-hit with rough starts to fire season, and had to declare a state of emergency at the end of May.
Now, more than a dozen new fires are detected daily across Canada — often started accidentally by humans, but sometimes ignited by lightning strikes.
Mega wildfires are now burning in western Alberta and British Columbia, as well as in northern Ontario, the country’s most populous province.
While these fires are consuming land at an alarming pace, they have not yet matched the numbers from 2023, an extraordinary year.
“It’s quite spectacular what we’re seeing right now,” said Marc-Andre Parisien, a researcher at the Canadian Forest Service.
As such, the country is on maximum fire alert and resources are ready for mobilization, including army-led evacuations from remote areas.
International aid from Australia and the Unites States are also standing by.
“There are some similarities to the 2023 fire season, particularly because we’re again coping with a very large area experiencing water deficits and drought,” Parisien said.
