Mass evacuations continued across Canada on Wednesday as firefighters battled massive wildfires, described by some as “monsters”, threatening villages and consuming vast areas of land.
The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have declared states of emergency due to the scale and intensity of the blazes, which have been burning for days. Across the country, more than 200 fires are currently active- roughly half of them considered out of control. Seven new fire fronts were reported on Wednesday alone.
So far, more than 31,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes, many travelling hundreds of kilometres to find shelter.
One particularly devastating fire has destroyed over 470,000 hectares of forested land and remains uncontained. Another, further west, has scorched more than 140,000 hectares and also remains out of control.
The entire Canadian firefighting service has been placed on high alert, and crews from across the country- along with around 140 reinforcements from the United States- are working around the clock to contain the flames.
Smoke from the fires continues to severely affect air quality across central Canada and parts of the northern United States.
Canada has been increasingly affected by extreme weather and natural disasters linked to climate change. In 2023, the country experienced its worst wildfire season in recorded history. This year’s fire season is already raising serious concerns, with over 2.2 million hectares of land burned so far, an area larger than the entire nation of Slovenia.
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