Wisconsin, Minnesota Republicans demand to know what Canada is doing to curb wildfire smoke

National Post

6 days ago

WASHINGTON — Six Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to Canada's ambassador calling for action on the wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states.
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In a Tuesday letter to Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, representatives Tom Tiffany, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Glenn Grothman and Pete Stauber of Wisconsin and Minnesota said their constituents are coping with suffocating smoke from Canadian wildfires.
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'As we are entering the height of the fire season, we would like to know how your government plans on mitigating wildfires and the smoke that makes its way south,' the letter said.
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The lawmakers said successive years of wildfires in Canada have undermined air quality in their states and robbed Americans of their ability to enjoy the summer.
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They pointed to forest management and arson as possible factors behind the fires. They did not mention climate change, which Natural Resources Canada blames for wildfire problems globally.
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The lawmakers urged Hillman to relay their concerns to Ottawa, in particular to Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Forest Service.
The Canadian Embassy in Washington confirmed it had received the letter and said it will be shared with the relevant agencies. Spokesperson Tarryn Elliott said in an email that 'Canada takes the prevention, response and mitigation of wildfires very seriously.'
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'This is why the government of Canada, during its G7 presidency this year, led the development of the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter — the first leader-level wildfire initiative aimed at preventing, responding to and recovering from wildland fire,' Marie Martin, a department spokesperson, said in a statement.
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The office of Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski has not yet responded to a request for comment.
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'With all the technology that we have at our disposal, both in preventing and fighting wildfires, this worrisome trend can be reversed if proper action is taken,' the Republican lawmakers said in their letter.
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The letter pointed to the 2023 Canadian wildfire season, which was the worst on record. Fires blazing across the country that year sent thick smoke into the United States and even across the Atlantic Ocean to northern Europe.
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Canadian officials warned last month that this year's wildfire season could shape up to be the second-worst on record. While fires have caused widespread destruction and triggered evacuations in multiple provinces this season, the threat appears to have eased somewhat recently.
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Veronica Bistodeau, an official with the city of Big Falls in northern Minnesota, said the air quality at the local Big Falls Campground and Horse Camp hasn't been too bad this summer.