Rainy forecast offers hope as fires rage

Nearly 700 international firefighters to join battle as more than 300 wildfires burn across Canada

OTTAWA Almost 700 firefighters from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the United States are set to arrive in Canada over the next two weeks to help with the unusually severe start to the wildfire season.

There are already more than 500 international firefighters, incident commanders and other workers in Alberta, and another 101 arrived from the U.S. Friday. Alberta has been battling multiple severe fires since early May and there are still 63 fires burning, 18 of them out of control.

The Canada Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported that as of Friday afternoon there were 324 fires burning across the country, and 167 are considered out of control. That includes the Tantallon fire in Halifax that has destroyed or damaged 151 homes so far.

That’s a big jump from Thursday, when the agency reported 209 fires, with 87 out of control.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said Friday that cooler weather is expected in Western Canada and rain in Nova Scotia, which will help. But the severe fire warnings are likely to continue in most provinces for another four to five weeks at least.

“The situation remains severe across the country,” Blair said. “We are hopeful that the improving weather conditions and that rain will assist in the firefighting efforts, but there’s still a great deal of work that needs to be done.”

More than 27,000 square kilometres of land has burned in Canada over the last two months, more than 10 times the average amount of land burned by fires over the last decade.

Thus far, more than 96 per cent of the burned land was in Western Canada and Northwest Territories, but last weekend the situation became more severe in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and now parts of Ontario and Quebec are also burning.

“There are a number of very significant — over 100 wildfires — that have now popped up in Quebec and some of them are out of control and quite serious,” said Blair.

The Canada Interagency Forest Fire Centre database added 113 fires in Quebec since Thursday, and 76 of them are classified as being out of control.

The Canadian Armed Forces deployed several hundred troops to Alberta to help in May and is training more to help in Nova Scotia now, said Blair. The military and the Canadian Coast Guard are also helping with equipment, he said.

More than 27,000 square kilometres of land has burned in Canada over the last two months