LA RONGE, Saskatchewan (AP) – Firefighters made some progress Wednesday in quelling hundreds of wildfires raging across central and western Canada that are threatening thousands of people and triggering air quality warnings across the country and in the U.S. West and Midwest, authorities said.
Steve Roberts, a Saskatchewan wildfire management official, said better visibility has allowed aircraft to dump water on the flames there. Several hundred Canadian soldiers were involved in firefighting efforts around the country and the military said another 500 troops from Manitoba were on standby. Fire-fighting crews from across Canada and from South Dakota have been helping out.
But even as progress was being made in Saskatchewan, wildfires burned in parts of British Columbia and northern Alberta and authorities were forced to seek help from around the country and other countries, including Mexico and Australia.
“As we started down the road with these fires, Alberta and British Columbia fire hazards escalated, the numbers of fires increased and they had community evacuations as well,” Roberts said. “That has stretched the availability of resources across the country.”
Karen Hill, a spokeswoman for Saskatchewan’s provincial emergency services, said an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people in the province have been forced to leave their homes in recent days. The evacuations are mostly from more than 50 communities in the northern part of the province.