About two weeks after the first fires broke out in western Canada, the fire brigades have still not been able to bring the flames under control. The Alberta Wildfire Protection Agency registered 89 wildfires yesterday (local time), 23 of which were classified as “out of control”. Currently, more than 19,000 people are still affected by evacuations. There is no relief in sight for the near future either: the situation is extremely unstable, said Colin Blair, director of the Alberta Civil Protection Authority.
In the meantime, around 521,000 hectares of land have burned down in more than 450 fires in the province of Alberta this year.
Alberta Wildfire Information Officer Josee St-Onge said: “We expect conditions to continue to be difficult and will continue to be so for the next few days as the heat and drought persist.” The prospect of rain be low. The risk of fire was again classified as extreme yesterday, the peak of the danger is still to come.
Just over a week ago, the province of Alberta declared a state of emergency given the extent of the fire. This will allow federal funds to be released to fight the flames. Around 1,500 Alberta firefighters are currently battling the various fires; Another 800 people from other agencies are helping, including 200 firefighters from the USA and 300 members of the Canadian armed forces.
In 2016, Alberta experienced massive fires that destroyed more than 2,400 buildings.
