Fires in eastern Canada are “under control”, evacuations end July 21, 2024

Aerial view of a forest fire near the northeastern town of Wabush in Canada on July 12, 2024 (Simon Contant)

From AFP - Agence France Presse

Fires in eastern Canada are “under control”, evacuations end

A forest fire in northeastern Canada that forced the evacuation of more than 9,000 people a week ago is now under control, allowing evacuees to return home, authorities said Saturday.

The danger to the towns of Labrador City and Wabush is now “very low”, Premier Andrew Furey of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador told reporters.

“We can breathe again here,” he said.

“So today we are in the fortunate position of being able to partially lift the evacuation order,” the premier said, calling the evacuation the “largest evacuation in the history of the province.”

For now, only staff deemed essential - hospital workers, supermarket employees, and government workers - will be allowed to return to prepare for the return of the remaining evacuees from Monday, he said.

The evacuation was a challenge. Residents of this remote region had to travel 500 kilometers to reach safety on the only available road.

While the situation in eastern Canada is easing, more and more forest fires have been breaking out in the west of the country in recent days.

More than 320 fires are currently raging in the province of British Columbia on the Pacific coast, including three particularly large ones. Several thousand people are still on alert so that they can be evacuated in an emergency.

In the province of Alberta, more than 5,000 people were evacuated from isolated Indigenous communities as the out-of-control fires threatened the only road providing access to the communities, according to officials.

The Environment Ministry has issued several smoke warnings for the Rocky Mountains and the north of the country, where Edmonton, the province's second-largest city, has also been affected by the smoke.

Authorities are blaming a deadly combination of thunderstorms and extreme temperatures of 30 to 40 °C (86 to 104 °F) for the outbreak - conditions that are expected to continue for several days.

According to experts, climate change has led to drier and hotter conditions in many regions, greatly increasing the risk of large fires.

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