2023 will go down as the worst wildfire season in Canada, and there are still months to go in the official season, which normally extends from the start of April until September. (The Canadian Press)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

dire situation

2023 marked as worst wildfire season of the 21st century for Canada

Jun 13, 2023 | 3:03 PM

NANAIMO — With more than 4.7 million hectares of forest burned, 2023 is now the worst wildfire season this century in Canada.

Emergency preparedness minister Bill Blair said hundreds of firefighters continue to pour into the country from around the world.

“All incoming support from the European partners including deployments from Portugal and Spain that are expected to arrive later this week to support our efforts in Quebec. The United States continues to provide aid through the national agency fire centre, and to date, upwards of 600 personnel have been deployed, along with numerous resources including air tankers.”

Blair said Canada continues to leverage the international community for help.

“We currently have nearly 5,000 firefighter personnel including firefighters, incident management personnel, overhead specialists and members of the Canadian Armed Forces deployed in Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec. And earlier today we approved the second extension request from the government of Alberta to continue with the deployment in that province.”

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He said as of June 12, there were about 1,100 international firefighting resources in Canada.

He said Canada will continue to call on international partners to help battle blazes.

“And while we have seen significant improvement in some regions, Western Canada, Quebec, and parts of northern Ontario are still seeing wildfire smoke impacting air quality.”

Another storm is forecast to move into northeastern B.C. where officials describe a “volatile and rapidly evolving” wildfire situation.

Environment Canada says the system could dump up to 25 millimetres of rain over the parched Peace River region, but thunderstorms are forecast later in the day, followed by winds gusting to 60 kilometres per hour.

Hundreds of people were forced from their homes or are under an evacuation alert as the 4,660-square-kilometre Donnie Creek blaze continues to rage.

The same weather system also spawned severe thunderstorm watches for a large part of southeastern B.C., a wind warning for the west side of Vancouver Island and special weather statements for most other central and southern regions.

That includes the eastern Vancouver Island area where a small but aggressive on steep hills above Highway 4, indefinitely closing the only paved link to Port Alberni, Tofino and Ucluelet.

The fire was marked as held as of June 13.

As of June 12, 431 wildfires were burning across the country, 208 of which were classified as out of control.

Around 32,000 people remain evacuated from coast to coast.

with files from Jon De Roo/97.3 FM The Eagle, and The Canadian Press.

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