Fire season in Canada runs from March until October. We're only a few months in, and the country's already in pretty deep trouble. With a large number of out-of-control wildfires burning in the central Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (along with growing flames in British Columbia and Ontario), we're off to another smoke-filled summer. Right now, tens of thousands of individuals are being forced to flee from fires encroaching on their communities. It's becoming an ugly annual tradition.
More than 180 wildfires were burning across the country on Saturday, with dozens spanning from northwestern Ontario through to large regions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, along with some areas in Alberta and British Columbia. At least 90 of those are considered out of control and eight new fires have started since Friday.
…The situation this week has been so severe that Manitoba was forced to call upon the Canadian Armed Forces to rescue residents from several communities. The province was contending with 25 active wildfires on Saturday, with 106 in total this year. Before this week, the 20-year average for the region was 78 annual fires.
In Saskatchewan, where more than 500,000 hectares have been burned by wildfires, Premier Scott Moe said he has been in constant dialogue with the federal government and other officials about whether military support is needed, but has not called for it yet.
If you live in cities like Chicago, Milwaukee or Detroit, the chances of enjoying one of Canada's best-known national exports, acrid, visibility-buggering smoke, are pretty good right now. Things are already bad enough that, in addition to calling in the armed forces, Canada has also called for assistance from provinces that have yet to ignite and our pals to the south in states like Arizona and Oregon.
But with it being so early in the season, it's hard to say how long any equipment or personnel sent to central Canada to help will be able to remain there. More fires in more places mean less assistance to go around. With budgets being as austere as they are, the likelihood of additional resources having cash thrown at them seems doubtful.
