‘Leaving everything they own behind’ as wildfires ravage millions of acres in Canada

CALGARY, Alberta—Judy Greenwood didn’t want to leave. But when evacuation alerts rang repeatedly on her phone and emergency responders knocked on her door, she and her husband loaded their four cats into the car and drove away from their rural hamlet to escape approaching wildfires.

In much of the western province of Alberta, this time of year has long been wildfire season. But this year, a large number of fires in the boreal forest have started early and expanded exceptionally, leading the province to declare a state of emergency.

By Tuesday, about 24,000 people were out of their homes in the sparsely populated, largely northern areas of the province, as 88 active wildfires raged on nearly a million acres.

There have already been 412 fires this season – which normally runs from March 1 to October 31 – an unusually high number. And for residents of vulnerable areas, that brings back uncomfortable memories of 2016, when raging flames swept from the forest into the oil sands capital of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

That wildfire forced the rapid evacuation of more than 90,000 people, destroyed more than 2,400 homes and businesses, and disrupted production at the largest source of imported oil in the United States. It remains at more than 4 billion Canadian dollars Canada’s most expensive disaster.

As was the case during the Fort McMurray fires, many of today’s evacuees, a group that includes thousands of members of First Nations communities, have taken refuge in Edmonton, the province’s capital and second-largest city.

Uncertainty plagues many evacuees. Thick smoke hanging over many areas has made it impossible to determine the fate of many homes and other buildings through aerial surveys.

“There is no question that this is a challenging time,” Danielle Smith, Alberta’s premier, told reporters Monday afternoon. “Tens of thousands of people have been driven from their homes and jobs. They leave behind everything they own and wonder if they will lose everything they have worked for.”

Cloudy skies and mostly rain have eased the pressure on firefighters and allowed about 5,000 people to return to their homes since Monday. The known damage has so far been limited to a few dozen homes, some infrastructure and roads. However, officials expect those numbers to rise as they finalize the assessments. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

The impact of the fires on the oil industry is minimal, although some producers have been forced to shut down a small percentage of production.

Mrs Greenwood, who left her rural hamlet, was told that sprinklers placed by firefighters along a road had successfully kept flames away from her home in Wildwood.

“I want to hug and thank them,” she said from Edmonton, where she was staying with her son and other relatives. “They saved our house.”

It remained unclear to Ms Greenwood on Tuesday when she, her husband and their pets would be allowed to return home.

At the Edmonton evacuation center, Trevor Sundman, an oil worker, said that when he left his community of Drayton Valley, “there was no smoke or anything.” But, he added, “I’ve seen videos of what it looks like now and it just looks all burnt.”

Families displaced for a total of seven days are eligible for government-provided financial assistance, with other services, such as food and other supplies, distributed through evacuation centers.

Many of the evacuees were concerned not only for the safety of their families, but also for the well-being of the cattle, horses, bison and other animals on their farms.

Well outside the fire zone in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Ivy McCallum is caring for three horses that had been evacuated.

“I have the resources to help people: I have the land, I have the trailer, I have the truck,” said Ms McCallum, age 24.

Wildfires are increasing in size and intensity in Western Canada as seasons generally lengthen. Research suggests that heat and drought associated with global warming are major reasons for the increase in bigger and stronger fires.

Across the mountains in the neighboring province of British Columbia, fires devastated the entire community of Lytton in 2021 after temperatures hit a record high of 49.6 degrees Celsius, or 121.3 Fahrenheit.

The fires in Alberta come as the province prepares for elections on May 29. Under normal circumstances, Mrs. Smith, who has criticized many of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s climate moves, provincial election rules prohibit making major decisions during the election. the period before the vote. However, the emergency has changed that and led Ms. Smith to ask for federal assistance.

As a result, members of the Canadian military are on standby and would be deployed by the federal government if needed, Ms Smith said. Troops typically assist with evacuations and infrastructure repairs required by disasters. The federal government has also offered to provide other forms of support, and several provinces have sent fire crews to Alberta.

Mike Ellis, Alberta’s minister of public safety, told reporters there were limits to what a government or agency could do to completely extinguish the fires. In recent years, a change in weather has finally been the only force that has brought fires under control.

“I let everyone know that because there is no miracle solution in our response,” he said.

Ian Austen reported from Calgary, Alberta, Amber Vomiting from Edmonton, Alberta and Vyosa Isai from Toronto.