Megafires in Canada: death of a second firefighter fighting the flames

2023-07-17 00:28:02

The balance sheet is getting heavier. A second firefighter has died in Canada after being injured battling the country’s raging megawildfires, two days after they claimed the first victim, authorities said on Sunday. “We must never forget the service and sacrifices of our first responders,” tweeted Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair.

“It is with profound sadness that we report the tragic death of a firefighter who died of an injury sustained while battling a wildfire in the Fort Liard District on Saturday afternoon,” said Jessica Davey-Quantick of Northwest Territories Relief, without elaborating on the circumstances.

We must never forget the service and sacrifices of our first responders.

— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) July 16, 2023

This death occurred in the south of the Northwest Territories region, close to the province of British Columbia, where a young 19-year-old female firefighter lost her life on Thursday during a fall in an intervention.

10 million hectares gone up in smoke

The Northwest Territories is facing a very severe drought this year and several temperature records have been broken in some places in recent days. Currently, 89 fires are ongoing in this region, 12 of which are out of control. More than 809,000 ha have already gone up in smoke in this area.

Faced with a record year in terms of fires and especially with very many megafires, Canada is forced to let the majority burn. In total, more than 10 million hectares have already burned this year, a total far greater than anything the country has ever known, and the equivalent of the area of ​​Portugal.

Canada, which due to its geographical location is warming faster than the rest of the planet, has been confronted in recent years with extreme weather events whose intensity and frequency have been increased by climate change. It is mainly the boreal forest that goes up in smoke, far from inhabited areas, thus causing little material and human damage. But with serious consequences for the environment.