Canada could hit ‘record levels’ of area burnt by wildfires this year

wildfire season this year, government officials are warning.Nine provinces and territories are battling blazes that have forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people across the country since early May, officials said in an update Monday.New modelling released Monday shows that the risks of wildfires is set to increase this month and remain “unusually high” throughout the summer in Canada, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said.“Every province and territory will need to be on high alert throughout this wildfire season,” he told reporters, saying that additional firefighting resources will be required moving forward.“While this is not yet Canada’s most severe fire season, if this trajectory continues, it very well could be.”Since the start of the year, 2,214 wildfires have already burned 3.3 million hectares of land – which is “10 times” the normal average for the season, Wilkinson said.As of June 4, more than 400 active fires were burning across the country, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported.Ottawa is giving federal assistance to at least three provinces – Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec.The Canadian military as well as hundreds of international firefighters are on the ground giving a much-needed helping hand to local emergency teams.Despite the “very serious projections”, Canada is expected to have enough resources to cover the summer months, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.“If things get worse, we ..

are developing contingency plans and we will, of course, make sure that we are there, whether it’s leaning more on international supports, whether it’s steading up other resources, we will be there to ensure that all Canadians are protected right through this summer,” he.