A firefighter directs water on a grass fire on an acreage behind a residential property in Kamloops, B.C., Monday, June 5, 2023. More firefighters from abroad are expected to arrive Wednesday in Canada as the country grapples with its worst wildfire season of the 21st century. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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
More firefighters from abroad were expected Wednesday in Canada as the country grapples with its worst wildfire season of the 21st century.
Officials from Quebec said 240 firefighters, 100 from Portugal and 140 from Spain, are landing in Quebec City to aid in fighting some of the 130 forest fires raging across the province.
About 5,000 firefighters from other countries, including the United States and France, have been deployed across Canada, while teams from Chile and Costa Rica are expected in the coming days.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will continue to rely on foreign crews to fight fires in the coming years, and that it’s clear Canada needs to increase firefighting resources at many levels.
Rain not halting wildfires in Northern Quebec
The rainfall in northwestern Quebec in the last 24 hours has not been enough to douse wildfires near Lebel-sur-Quévillon, 620 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
Quebec’s forest fire prevention agency says less than one millimetre of rain fell in the area around the town, which was not enough to slow the growth of the blaze.
Officials had hoped the rain in the forecast would be enough to shift the fight against the fires and allow residents to return after being evacuated.
Currently, between 3,000 and 3,500 square kilometres of land is on fire around Lebel-sur-Quévillon, threatening the community and the nearby Nordic Kraft pulp mill.
Key wildfire on Vancouver Island now being held
An update from the BC Wildfire Service says the blaze that forced the closure of a stretch of a main Vancouver Island highway on June 6 is now classified as “being held.”
The service says that means the roughly two-square-kilometre fire is not likely to spread beyond predetermined boundaries under current conditions.
It says crews are working in steep, rocky terrain to establish control lines around the fire that sent rocks and trees tumbling onto the route east of Port Alberni.
Officials say safety concerns along Highway 4, which links Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet with the rest of the region, will keep the route closed until at least June 24.
A lengthy and challenging detour is being used to allow people and supplies to reach the cut off communities, but it’s meant to be used only for essential travel.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2023.
