Category Archives: Forest Fires

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Forest Fires

Meet the international firefighters battling Canada’s worst wildfire season in a century

By Julia Wong
CBC News
June 17, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

Andrew Stewart

Andrew Stewart said his first glimpse of a Canadian wildfire left quite the impression.  The firefighter from the South Australian Country Fire Service arrived in Canada on June 8 and was deployed to the wildfire burning near Edson, Alta., roughly 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.  “We could see multiple plumes of smoke in the local area and for us, we could tell from the fire behaviour we could see, and the smoke we could see, they were fairly intense fires moving at a rapid, rapid rate through the forest in high fuel loads,” he said.  “From that, we knew we’re going to have some significant days ahead of us.”  Stewart is one of hundreds of firefighters from overseas that have pitched in to assist in Canada’s worst wildfire season in a century.

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A federal fleet of water bombers could help control forest fires

By Glenn McGillivray, managing director, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
The Globe and Mail
June 16, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

Glenn McGillivray

This year’s wildfire season is already the most severe one this century, with 449 fires burning across Canada as of June 12, and roughly half of them deemed out of control. More than five million hectares have been scorched to date – almost 15 times the annual average amount of the last decade – and it’s only mid-June.   …In Canada, it is the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) (pronounced SIFF-CEE) that works to co-ordinate the sharing and movement of provincial and territorial wildfire suppression resources to where they are needed most.  It also arranges for the use of out-of-country resources, both in terms of equipment and people.  …The suggestion is that the federal government purchase its own air tankers (more specifically, water-scooping skimmers that scoop water and retardant aircraft, which are loaded on the ground) and house these within Parks Canada. 

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What you need to know about wildfires in Canada

The Canadian Press in Victoria Times Colonist
June 14, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

Wildfires continue to rage in Canada in one of the worst seasons in recent memory. Not enough rain in Quebec fell to help the firefight, while B.C. reports fire above highway is held. Here’s a look at developments Wednesday:

  • Canada expecting more firefighting help from abroad…
  • Rain not halting wildfires in Northern Quebec…
  • Scattered rain will not extinguish B.C.’s wildfire risk…
  • Northern B.C. highway threatened by approaching wildfire…
  • Key wildfire on Vancouver Island now being held…
  • Wildlife an unseen casualty of historic wildfire season…

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Forestry, Fisheries and Environment deploys second team of 200 firefighters to fight wildfires in Alberta, Canada

By Peter Mbelengwa
South African Government
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, International

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s Working on Fire programme is deploying a second contingent of 200 firefighters and 13 managers – Mzanzi Hotshots 2 – to assist in ongoing fire suppression operations in the Canadian Province of Alberta. This follows the deployment of 200 firefighters and 15 managers – on 3 June 2023. Mzanzi Hotshots 2 will leave for Edmonton, Canada, on Wednesday 14 June 2023… The deployment of both teams comes in response to an urgent request from the Canadian Inter-agency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) in terms of the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and South Africa. …The MOU signed in 2019, provides for the exchange of wildland fire management resources between the South Africa and Canada.  It was put in place following two earlier deployments to Canada to suppress wild fires in Alberta and Manitoba.

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From hoses and shovels to water bombers: How wildfires are being fought across Canada

The Canadian Press in the Vernon Morning Star
June 9, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

The techniques used to put out the wildfires that are burning across Canada vary somewhat depending on geography, but ultimately they depend on people on the ground with hoses and shovels digging out hot spots one by one, experts say.  As of midday Thursday, there were 430 fires burning across Canada, including 235 that were out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.  Regardless of how many fires there are, the tactics to put them out remain largely the same, involving a combination of air attacks and firefighters working on the ground, said a longtime firefighter and former member of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources’ fire program.  Dave Cowan, who now trains new recruits with the private company Fire 1, said that while aircraft can help stop a fire’s advance, the hard work of putting it out is always done at ground level.

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Happy to help Canada, but U.S. wildfire season is rapidly approaching, officials warn

By James McCarten
Canadian Press in Red Deer News Now
June 9, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, United States

WASHINGTON — The agency co-ordinating the deployment of U.S. firefighters and equipment to Canada says it is keeping a wary eye on its own looming fire season. The U.S. National Interagency Fire Center says there are currently 345 federal firefighters and support personnel helping out north of the border. A total of 649 U.S. personnel have been cycled through Canada since early May — but that number doesn’t include state-level resources that are also assisting. More than 100 firefighters and support workers have been sent separately to Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec, along with four airtankers from Alaska and Washington state. …But many of those workers will soon be needed closer to home, the agency warns, with the busy summer fire season rapidly approaching. 

 

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International help rolls in to fight persistent Canadian wildfires

By Nia Williams and Ismail Shakil
Reuters
June 8, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada

OTTAWA – Allies around the world have promised to increase their help to Canada in its fight against hundreds of blazes that have swept through the country in its worst-ever start to wildfire season. Forest fires that have gathered strength over the last month have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and sent a smoky haze billowing over a large swath of the United States. The fires have impacted mining operations in Canada and disrupted flights in the United States. On Thursday the Toronto District School Board, Canada’s largest, rescheduled or moved indoors all outside activities, including field trips and local school events. Although wildfires are common in Canada, it is unusual for blazes to be burning simultaneously in the east and west, stretching firefighting resources, forcing the government to send in the military to help, and fueling concerns about the worsening consequences of climate change.

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Schumer wants twice as many Forest Service personnel fighting Canadian wildfires

By Julia Shapero
The Hill
June 8, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, United States

Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for twice as many Forest Service personnel to be deployed to Canada on Thursday to help fight the hundreds of wildfires fueling a smoky haze over the eastern U.S. “These unprecedented wildfires are a crisis for both Canada and the United States, so both nations must respond speedily and forcefully to contain the blazes,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “The best way to ensure the U.S. does not suffer another wave of wildfire air pollution is to contain these fires up in Canada as soon as possible.”  “We must send personnel, we must send equipment, and we must offer any assistance that our friends north of the border need,” he added. …The New York Democrat also emphasized the role of climate change in Canada’s recent wildfires, saying that both parties have “an obligation to do more” on the issue.

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Donnie Creek wildfire in northeast B.C. now the largest recorded in province’s history

By Akshay Kulkarni
CBC News
June 18, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Donnie Creek wildfire in northeastern British Columbia has now surpassed the 2017 Plateau fire as the largest individual fire, by area burned, ever recorded in the province’s history.  It was sparked on May 12 by lightning, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS), and covers an area of 5,343.88 square kilometres as of 10 a.m. PT on Sunday. It is still not responding to suppression efforts and remains out of control, according to the BCWS.  Before this year — which has seen an unusually early start to fire season — the largest single fire was the 2017 Plateau fire near Williams Lake, an amalgamation of several smaller fires that burned a total of 5,210 square kilometres.  The wildfire is burning 136 kilometres southeast of Fort Nelson, and 158 kilometres north of Fort St. John, in the province’s Peace River region. 

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Northeast BC wildfire approaching 500,000 hectares in size

By Josh Duncan
Kelowna Now
June 15, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A wildfire in the northeast corner of the province continues to grow in size as it burns through large sections of forest. The BC Wildfire Service’s latest size estimate for the Donnie Creek wildfire, around 160 kilometres north of Fort St. John, is 487,509 hectares. It became the second largest wildfire in BC history earlier this month, and it’s slowly closing in on the biggest, which was the 545,000-hectare Plateau wildfire near Williams Lake in 2017. …“The fire danger rating for this part of the North Peace remains high to extreme despite rain being received in various parts of the region,” the BCWS explains. “This means forest fuels are very dry and the Donnie Creek wildfire can spread easily, burn vigorously, and challenge fire suppression efforts.”

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Fire rescue puts out vehicle fire that caused wildfire near Anutz Lake

By Tyson Whitney
North Island Gazette
June 14, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A vehicle fire near Anutz Lake ended up causing a wildfire earlier today (June 14). “Just before 8 a.m. this morning our crew was called to a vehicle fire near Anutz lake,” said Port McNeill Fire Rescue in a social media post. “Pumper 4 and Water Tender 1 were dispatched. Upon arrival the vehicle fire had spread to the forest as well. Our crews quickly extinguished the vehicle and worked to limit the spread of the forest fire with help of a helicopter.” According to PMFR, BC Wildfire Service has taken over the scene now to get the fire under control. …As of 11:28 a.m. on Wednesday, the wildfire was reported by BCWS as being one hectare in size and classified as out of control, meaning it is continuing to spread and is not responding to suppression efforts.

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Massive Donnie Creek wildfire moves within 2 km of Alaska Highway

CBC News
June 14, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A key highway that connects Yukon and northern British Columbia to the rest of the province is now threatened by the huge Donnie Creek wildfire south of Fort Nelson, B.C. The Peace River Regional District has posted an evacuation alert for a section of the Alaska Highway as out-of-control flames creep within two kilometres of the route. A 160-kilometre stretch of highway between Fort Nelson and Fort St. John is affected. If the 4,875-square-kilometre blaze cuts the highway, residents north of Fort Nelson could face a more than 1,700-kilometre detour via highways 37 and 16 if they need to travel south by main roads. Little rain from recent storms reached the Donnie Creek blaze Tuesday, but downpours around Dawson Creek, B.C., calmed the nearly 200-square-kilometre Kiskatinaw wildfire, which remains out of control and within a few kilometres of the community of Tumbler Ridge, which was evacuated six days ago.

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Wildfire held, but Port Alberni highway connection to stay closed at least a week

By Elena Rardon
The Northern View
June 13, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Highway 4 east of Port Alberni will remain closed for at least another week, says the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.  … The highway has been closed for a week due to a wildfire burning on Cameron Lake Bluffs, near Angel Rock on Vancouver Island’s Highway 4.  According to Transportation Minister Rob Fleming, the highway will remain closed for “at least” another week. When it does re-open, Fleming says drivers can expect the road to be single-lane alternating around the Cameron Bluffs site. …Although the pavement condition remains “intact,” Staite says some pieces of roadside barrier have been dislodged and require repairs.  The slope above the highway also remains intact, but debris on the slope has been “loosened” by the wildfire, and there are concerns around trees and rocks continuing to fall onto the highway.

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BC Wildfire Service raises Terrace fire danger rating to ‘extreme’

By Viktor Elias
Terrace Standard
June 13, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

The BC Wildfire Service has raised the fire danger rating to “extreme” for Terrace and region as of June 12, amid growing concerns over extremely dry forest conditions and heightened fire risk. The “extreme” rating signifies that forest fuels are exceptionally dry and there is an intense risk of new fires igniting easily, spreading swiftly and becoming increasingly difficult for suppression efforts, according to the BC Wildfire Service. When the wildfire threat is severe, it can challenge even the most organized fire mitigation strategies. The elevated rating could potentially lead to further restrictions on general forest activities, such as industrial activities and campfires, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

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B.C. communities on edge as wildfire shuts down highway, slowing deliveries of fuel, medicine

By Rochelle Baker
The National Observer
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A critical transportation corridor on Vancouver Island remains closed as a stubborn, out-of-control wildfire continues to strangle traffic and the supply chain to communities west of the blaze. Closed for the past week, Highway 4 will remain shut as the 10-day-old Cameron Bluff wildfire continues to burn along steep slopes — causing trees, rocks and debris to fall onto the only paved road serving Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet and numerous First Nations, the province announced in an update Monday. With the exception of Tofino, most communities and First Nations in the Alberni Valley and on the island’s west coast are asking tourists not to visit the region in an effort to preserve limited supplies, especially fuel necessary to keep emergency services operational. On Sunday, the province began twice-daily guided convoys for the long and difficult detour route along gravel forestry roads between Lake Cowichan and Port Alberni so commercial transport vehicles can bypass the fire and get essential goods to the isolated communities.

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‘Fire remains out of control’: Edson evacuation order persists amidst wildfire

By Cindy Tran
The Edmonton Journal
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

EDSON, Alberta — Officials are warning residents to heed the evacuation order following wildfires over the weekend in Yellowhead County west of Edmonton and in the town of Edson. Christine Beveridge, chief administrative officer of the Town of Edson, said that the “fire remains out of control,” and that they are expecting an increase in fire activity. “It’s widening. We have a lot of resources on the fire trying to make sure (it doesn’t get) further out of control,” said Beveridge. The fire remains roughly 1.5 km from town limits to the south. Officials continued to say that while they projected that residents would be able to return home on Wednesday, the evacuation order may be longer. There are currently no hospital, medical, gas, grocery or other services available to the public. Officials are warning residents that emergency crews are tapped out dealing with the fire.

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Donnie Creek wildfire combines with Heck Creek wildfire

By Shailynn Foster
Energetic City
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Donnie Creek wildfire, part of the Donnie Creek Complex, has combined with the Heck Creek wildfire, according to BC Wildfire Service (BCWS). The approximately 465,367-hectare fire also took advantage of a northerly wind push and receptive fuels and moved past some previously established boundaries, leading to two additional evacuation orders over the weekend. The Donnie Creek fire is about three kilometres from the Alaska Highway but is not currently affecting traffic. BCWS says forward planning is underway for the possibility of the fire reaching the highway. Structure protection personnel are working ahead on structures and critical infrastructure. Due to aggressive fire behaviour, it is not safe for crews to use direct attack methods on some regions of the fire. BCWS says the objectives remain to protect human life, including the public’s and responder’s lives.

Additional coverage in Energetic City, by Spencer Hall: Peace River Regional District issues new evacuation alert due to Donnie Creek wildfire

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Shifting winds, cooler temperatures helping firefighters at Tumbler Ridge

The Canadian Press in the Vancouver Sun
June 10, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Firefighters took advantage of favourable weather conditions Saturday to make headway on an out-of-control wildfire that forced the evacuation of the northeast British Columbia community of Tumbler Ridge.  Shifting winds, cooling temperatures and intermittent rain showers slowed the wildfire’s advance and changed its direction, giving firefighter crews more time to build guards to protect the community, said BC Wildfire fire information officer Forrest Tower.  “It’s definitely the first day where there’s maybe a sense of calmness, I would say I guess right now,” he said in a phone interview. “But certainly I would not want to say the situation is over right now by any means. We’re using the next 24 to 48 hours to do as much as we can to secure containment on that western flank in the hopes that we can get enough done if we do see some uptick in fire behaviour.”

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Light rain welcome but Cameron Bluffs fire continues to grow

By Carla Wilson
Victoria Times Colonist
June 10, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rain Friday morning brought some reprieve for crews battling the out-of-control Cameron Bluffs wildfire, which has grown to 208 hectares in rugged, steep terrain on mid-Vancouver Island. More rain could still show up … but hot and dry weather is expected to return. Bryce Moreira, fire incident commander, said that firefighters are seeing “just a little bit of open flame or smouldering ground fire, which is good news for the crews.” …Port Alberni-based businesses that rely on heavy trucks are looking at chartering barges to transport supplies and products in and out of their operations. After a brief shutdown, Paper Excellence is reopening its paper mill, and normally has 100 trucks moving per day, Pat Deakin, Economic Development Manager said Friday. Trucks used by the company are heavier than permitted by the province on the detour route. The San Group Global Forestry Products similarly has a few dozen trucks going back and forth daily, Deakin said. 

Additional coverage in CTV News by Kaija Jussinoja: Rain slows down Vancouver Island wildfire, detour route reopens

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‘This fire is a beast’: Wildfire threatening Edson, Alta., less than 2 km from the town

By Madeline Smith
CBC News
June 10, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Despite a lack of significant growth Saturday, officials from municipalities west of Edmonton say the wildfire situation remains serious with flames less than two kilometres from the town of Edson, Alta. An evacuation order was issued for the town and parts of Yellowhead County, Friday evening as fires jumped guards and moved closer to populated areas. In a Saturday afternoon update, Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara pleaded for anyone still in the community of about 8,000 people to leave. “This is going to be a very dire situation. This is not good and this fire is a beast,” he said. …Officials warned the situation was fluid and could change as winds are anticipated to blow toward the town starting later in the evening. Warm weather over the next few days is also a concern. …This is the second time Edson residents have been forced to flee their homes in a little over a month.

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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith downplays link between wildfires and climate change

Canadian Press in CTV Edmonton
June 8, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Danielle Smith

EDMONTON – Premier Danielle Smith says the government is bringing in arson investigators from outside the province to trace the cause of some wildfires during an unprecedented season in Alberta. In an interview on Real Talk Ryan Jespersen, the host asked Smith how she reconciles her government’s energy policies with experts linking this year’s extreme fire season to climate change. “It’s a real-life metaphor … happening in front of us with a historic wildfire season,” Jespersen said to Smith during Thursday’s show. “Every expert that we talk to indicates the significant factor that climate change is playing on our susceptibility to wildfire.” Smith responded that she’s concerned about arson being the cause in some of the fires. “We are bringing in arson investigators from outside the province,” she said. “We have almost 175 fires with no known cause.”

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Travellers cancel plans on Vancouver Island as dodgy wildfire detour not an option for some

By Tiffany Crawford
Vancouver Sun
June 8, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

A fast-spreading wildfire on Vancouver Island has stranded visitors in tourist destinations, and caused others to cancel travel and wedding plans. The Cameron Bluffs wildfire, which is over a square kilometre in size, forced the Ministry of Transportation to close part of Highway 4, the only paved route to those popular destinations. The ministry has said it will likely be closed for several more days. Late Thursday, the transportation ministry said the detour — which directs drivers from Port Alberni to Lake Cowichan via Bamfield through forest-service and industrial roads — will also be closed to vehicles from 1 to 9 p.m. on Friday due to a vehicle that rolled into Francis Lake. …The Cameron Bluffs wildfire, about 20 kilometres east of Port Alberni, spread close to Highway 4 on Tuesday and the B.C. government closed seven kilometres of the route. The fire is burning between Cathedral Grove and MacMillan Provincial Park and Koen Road.

Additional coverage in CBC News by Chad Pawson: Concerns grow among residents, businesses over effects of Vancouver Island highway closure due to wildfire

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Quebec firefighters struggling to control wildfires in northern, western regions

Canadian Press in Bradford Today
June 15, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

QUEBEC – Officials say firefighters are still struggling to control wildfires in two Quebec regions as the situation has improved in the rest of the province. As of Thursday afternoon, there were over 100 active fires in the southern half of the province and another 20 in the far north. The province’s forest fire prevention agency — SOPFEU — classified 26 of the southern fires as out of control. SOPFEU official Sylvain Tremblay told a press conference that rainfall hasn’t been sufficient to halt the progression of fires in the northern and western parts of the province. Fire officials are concerned about the behaviour of wildfires in those two regions as firefighters try to maintain what progress they have made.

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More forest fires ‘under control’ in Northeast region

By Elaine Della-Mattia
Sault Star
June 13, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Rain and cooler temperatures across Northern Ontario are helping to douse – or at least control – the region’s forest fires. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry say there were no new reported fires Monday, but 28 remain active in Northeastern Ontario and a further 40 are active in Northwestern Ontario.  The fire hazard has been reduced to low to moderate across the Northeast region as a result of the rain. Almost 28 mm of rain fell in Sault Ste. Marie on Monday, Environment Canada data shows.  Environment Canada’s forecast is calling for rain will continue into Wednesday before clearing out and a warming of temperatures again. Weekend temperatures are expected to reach the mid-20’s under sunny skies.  A number of fires across the northeast are now classified as under control including Sault 4 at 14 hectares, Sault 6 at 4 hectares, Wawa 2 at 105 hectares, Sudbury 13 at 0.1 hectares, Sudbury 15 at 3.4 hectares and Sudbury 16 at 14.1 hectares.

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All wildfires in Nova Scotia under control more than two weeks after they started

Canadian Press in the Toronto Star
June 13, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

HALIFAX – All of Nova Scotia’s wildfires are now under control, more than two weeks after an unprecedented string of fires broke out in the southwestern corner of the province and in the Halifax area.  The provincial government has announced that the huge Barrington Lake wildfire in Shelburne County, which started May 27, is finally under control — the last of the wildfires to be tamed.  That fire grew to more than 235 square kilometres, the largest recorded in the province’s history.  The fire forced more than 6,000 people from their homes and destroyed 60 houses and cottages, as well as 150 other structures.  Firefighters from the province’s Natural Resources Department, the Department of National Defence, Newfoundland and Labrador and the United States are still on the scene to extinguish hot spots.

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Rain should help Quebec firefighting effort as more than 7,200 people still evacuated

By Morgan Lowrie
The Canadian Press in the Niagara Falls Review
June 13, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

MONTREAL – Rain in the forecast and the pending arrival of dozens of foreign firefighters raised hopes that Quebec’s more than 7,000 fire evacuees would be able to return home in the coming days, the province’s public security minister said Tuesday. François Bonnardel told reporters that rain showers and cooler temperatures were expected to move into northwestern Quebec, where powerful forest fires have threatened the towns of Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Normétal. The rain should provide some relief to firefighters over the next three or four days — and hopefully bring good news for displaced residents eager to return home, Bonnardel said. “People want a little hope,” he told reporters Tuesday in Montreal. “I’m going to try to give them some by telling them that with the weather forecasts for the next hours, we should be able to give you good news in the next 24, 48 hours.”

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Nine new forest fires in Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario News Watch
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is currently fighting or monitoring three dozen active forest fires across Northwestern Ontario. Nine of these fires were discovered Sunday, including a 37-hectare blaze about 16 kilometres west of Ogoki Lake. It’s the largest of the new blazes, and is not under control. Other outbreaks discovered in the Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Nipigon and Red Lake districts range in size from 0.1 hectare to six hectares. The ministry on Sunday also updated its fire summary for Saturday, saying it had discovered four additional fires on Saturday evening. The largest was an eight-hectare outbreak in the Red Lake district. …The current fire danger rating across the Northwest is mostly high.

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Nearly 70 wildfires burning across Ontario, 26 not under control

Canadian Press in Global News
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources says there are 68 wildfires burning across the north of the province. A spokesperson says 26 of those fires are not under control, 18 are under control, 16 are being observed, and eight are being held. Since Sunday, 14 new fires were discovered and eight were extinguished. The ministry says there is heavy smoke across northeastern Ontario due to fires both in the province and in Quebec, with the smoke travelling as far north as Timmins and south past Sudbury and Parry Sound. Most of northern Ontario is under a high or extreme risk of wildfires. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has urged people in every region of the province not to light camp fires.

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Thousands of fire evacuees in Quebec get green light to go home

CBC News
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Thousands of residents from Chibougamau, Que., and other municipalities started making their way home Monday morning after having been forced to leave due several forest fires raging in the province. During a news conference Monday morning, Premier François Legault said residents would soon begin to return to Lac-Barrière, Oujé-Bougoumou, Waswanipi, Obedjuwan and Lac-Simon. The premier says there will be fewer than 4,000 displaced people left by the end of the day, mostly residents from Normétal, Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Beaucanton, Val-Paradis and Saint-Lambert.  Chibougamau Mayor Manon Cyr says she feels relieved. 

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Ontario, Quebec wildfire efforts unlikely to be helped by rainy weather

By Sean Previl
Global News
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Gerald Cheng

Mother Nature may offer a brief reprieve to smoky conditions in some areas out west this week, but likely won’t offer too much help in fighting wildfires in eastern Canada. In a briefing Monday morning, Environment Canada meteorologist Gerald Cheng told reporters that while some rain would be seen in parts of Ontario and Quebec, it may not be “significant” enough to assist in fighting the biggest flames. “I sigh because I don’t really have a lot of good news,” he said. “We don’t see lots of rain for places that have the most active fires, especially in Quebec. And, on top of that, only showers in the forecast (are) with thunderstorms, lightning especially later in the week.” He cautioned that with the risk of thunderstorms comes the possibility of lightning that could trigger new fires. Cheng said northwestern Ontario would see no rain until the weekend.

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Threatened town now safe as Quebec makes progress on battling wildfires

By Jacob Serebrin
Canadian Press in CTV News Montreal
June 11, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

The forest fire threatening the northwestern Quebec city of Normetal has been contained, the province’s forest fire service said Sunday, as the fire situation in the province continued to improve. Nicolas Vigneault, a spokesman for the forest fire service SOPFEU, said the arrival of firefighters from other provinces and from France — as well as soldiers and recently-trained volunteers over the past week — has allowed firefighters to fight the blazes more aggressively. “All this help coming from other provinces, other countries, is really welcomed and, for us, it makes a really big difference in the field because we can attack the fires more aggressively,” he said in an interview Sunday. He said there are now more than 1,200 firefighters battling Quebec’s woodland blazes, with around 100 more expected to arrive from the United States on Tuesday.

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Quebec now taking the offensive against forest fires: natural resources minister

By Jacob Serebrin and Coralie Laplante
The Canadian Press in The Montreal Gazette
June 11, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

MONTREAL — The number of out of control forest fires in Quebec has declined as firefighters begin to take the offensive instead of just reacting to the blazes, the province’s natural resources minister said Sunday. “We’ve gone from a reactive mode to an offensive mode,” Maïté Blanchette Vézina told reporters in Quebec City. As of 1 p.m. Sunday, there were 118 active fires in the province, but the number of those classified as out-of-control has dropped by 30 and stood at 42. Fires near several communities in northern and northwestern Quebec have been brought partially under control, Blanchette Vézina said, but warned that with no rain expected in the affected areas before Tuesday, winds and continued dry conditions could stoke the flames. On Sunday, Chibougamau Mayor Manon Cyr announced that the city’s approximately 7,500 residents could begin returning to their homes on Monday.

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Quebec fires: situation ‘stable’ for coming days; evacuees stuck until next week

By Sidhartha Banerjee
Canadian Press in The Chronicle Journal
June 8, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

MONTREAL – Quebec’s precarious wildfire situation is expected to remain stable over the next 48 hours but residents displaced by the raging forest fires likely won’t be able to return home until early next week, Premier François Legault said Thursday. “We have (as of) today, 13,500 people that have been evacuated, we think that it’ll be stable in the next few days,” Legault told a briefing, but said that evacuees from Chibougamau and Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., which account for a large number of those displaced, won’t be able to return until Tuesday at the earliest. Quebec’s wildfire fight was focused Thursday in the province’s northern and western regions, where flames had reached the doorstep of a municipality of roughly 800 people. Authorities said a wildfire was within 500 metres of Normétal, Que., located 720 kilometres northwest of Montreal, in the Abitibi region.

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As firefighters arrive from France, Legault defends decision to snub ones from Montreal

By Andy Riga
Montreal Gazette
June 8, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

François Legault

With 100 firefighters set to arrive from France on Friday afternoon, Premier François Legault defended the decision not to accept volunteers from Montreal, Laval and Longueuil fire departments ready to help battle more than 130 forest fires in the province. “You have to understand that to add firefighters who are not (specially) trained, it takes supervision, so there’s a limit on the number we can add of regular firefighters who do not have the training to go into the forest,” Legault told a news conference about the forest fires on Thursday afternoon. He thanked Montreal, Laval and Longueuil for the offer, but added: “From what I understand, (forest fire prevention agency SOPFEU) has reached a limit to supervision they can do of people who are not completely trained.” Speaking in Quebec City, Legault said SOPFEU has about 518 of its own firefighters in place, along with about 150 members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

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Thousands of forest fire evacuees in Quebec are heading south. These towns are welcoming them with open arms

By Matthew Lapierre
CBC News
June 8, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Hundreds of cots carefully set up in the arena in Roberval, Que., now sit empty. Grey wool blankets lie folded in boxes. Officials had planned to offer refuge here to many of the 7,000 evacuees fleeing a raging forest fire near Chibougamau, 250 kilometres north.  Instead, the generosity of locals in the Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean region kicked in. After the evacuees arrived early Wednesday morning, local families began arriving at the arena, offering to house them.  “When we made the emergency plan and we received the population of Chibougamou, I didn’t know it was possible,” Roberval Mayor Serge Bergeron said at a news conference Thursday. “I knew the population of Roberval was generous, but I didn’t know it was [this generous].” Practically every one of the 7,400 evacuees who left Chibaugamou has found a real bed in Roberval. 

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Cal Fire says ‘operations’ at Roseburg plant started last year’s deadly Mill Fire in Weed

By Damon Arthur
Redding Record Searchlight
June 16, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Friday that last year’s Mill Fire in Siskiyou County, which killed two people and destroyed 144 structures, was caused by “operations” at the Roseburg Forest Products property in Weed.  The fire agency has come to a similar to conclusion to one Roseburg officials announced last year when they said the company was investigating whether a fire was caused by the possible failure of a water-spraying machine used to cool ash at its veneer mill in Weed.  The fire broke out at the Roseburg mill on Sept. 2 and pushed by wind strong winds it raced north, destroying dozens of buildings and eventually charring 3,935 acres before it was finally stopped in the community of Lake Shastina. 

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Wildfire near Port Angeles grows, more crews and equipment deployed

By Darron Kloster
Victoria Times Colonist
June 19, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Update: Washington state threw more machines and firefighters into the fray of a wildfire burning west of Port Angeles on Sunday.  The blaze in timber near Lake Sutherland grew to 35 hectares on Sunday, fuelled by strong overnight winds. Burning on state land 27 kilometres from Port Townsend and close to Olympic National Park, the blaze was discovered Saturday at about 1 p.m. and has quickly spread.  Smoke from the fire is visible across the Salish Sea from Victoria.  Thomas Kyle-Milward of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources said additional resources have been brought in. Teams are using six fire engines, two helicopters and two scooper planes collecting water off Lake Sutherland to fight the flames. Two teams of 10 firefighters are on the ground and three task-force leaders are co-ordinating operations.

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California wildfires are five times bigger than they used to be

By Eric Roston
Washington Post in The Spokesman Review
June 12, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

The extent of area burned in California’s summer wildfires increased about fivefold from 1971 to 2021, and climate change was a major reason, according to a new analysis. Scientists estimate the area burned in an average summer may jump again as much as 50% by 2050.   Days after wildfire smoke from Canada turned skies orange along the U.S. Eastern seaboard, the study is further confirmation of past research showing that higher temperatures and drier conditions in many parts of the world make wildfires more likely. Wildfires worsened by greenhouse gases tore through Australia in 2019 and 2020 and Siberia in 2020.  The peer-reviewed research, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that California wildfires scorch the most area when temperatures are high and less area when it’s cooler. 

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Fire in Joshua Tree National Park. What to know about road, trail, camping closures

By Kate Franco and Eliana Perez
Palm Springs Desert Sun
June 11, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

A fire that ignited in Joshua Tree National Park on Saturday around 4 p.m. has burned 1,088 acres and is 30% contained as of noon on Sunday, according to the Bureau of Land Management. The Geology Fire, named because it is in the area of Geology Tour Road, is moving northeast and the National Park Service said the cause of the fire is under investigation. A dispatcher with the Bureau of Land Management said BLM Fire, NPS Fire, and CalFire are all working toward containment. Eight fire engines, two helicopters, two heavy air tanks, one air attack unit, and two fire engines are among the equipment being used to stop the fire. …Geology Tour Road is at a remote area in the very center of Joshua Tree National Park, near Pinyon Well, east of Lost Horse Mine. It is currently closed to the public as a result of the fire.

Additional coverage from Joshua Tree National Park: Geology Fire Morning Update June 11, 2023

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Kazakhstan forest fires kill 14 with 60,000 hectares of land destroyed and government minister sacked

ABC News Australia
June 10, 2023
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

Fourteen people have died in major forest fires in north-eastern Kazakhstan, the emergency situations ministry said, in the Central Asian country’s highest such toll in years. “In total, 14 bodies have been found,” the ministry said in a statement, having previously announced it was searching for trapped forest rangers as fires consumed 60,000 hectares of land. The ministry said 316 people had been evacuated but that the situation was under control and homes safe, despite the high temperature and the changing direction of the wind hindering the response. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sacked emergency situations minister Yury Ilyin earlier on Saturday. More than 1,000 people, mostly from the defence and emergency situations ministries, are taking part in the effort to put out the fires.

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