More people leave homes in Canada as huge wildfires spread
Canada's wildfires, which have already forced evacuations of more than 26,000 people, continued their stubborn spread.
Photo:
AFP
More than 31,000 people were under evacuation across Canada on Wednesday as firefighters battled
raging wildfires
threatening towns and villages, authorities said.
More than 200 fires burning across the country -- half of which are described as being out of control -- have so far scorched more than 2.2 million hectares.
The Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces have been hardest hit, with both declaring wildfire emergencies in recent days.
"Right now it's not good because people are so scared, and also me," said Tareq Hosen Alin, who runs a hotel in La Ronge in Saskatchewan, where flames have destroyed some businesses.
The small town of 2500 people has been evacuated but Tareq Hosen Alin said he had stayed to house first responders and firefighters.
"So I'm scared, people lose their property, lose their money, lose their dreams right now," he told AFP.
Firefighters across the country have been put on alert, while 140 American personnel are already in Canada to help fight the fires.
"We are up against a monster. The last hours have been chaotic," the La Ronge fire department said. The region around La Ronge has several active blazes.
One of those has consumed more than 470,000 hectares and is still out of control. Another further west -- also uncontained -- has burned more than 140,000 hectares.
The fires have downgraded air quality in central Canada as well as in northern parts of the United States.
Wildfire smoke is comprised of gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particle pollution, which can be particularly hazardous to health.
Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests were scorched.
Most of the ongoing fires have been triggered by human activity -- often accidental -- such as poorly extinguished campfires or the passing of vehicles in extremely dry areas.
-
AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
More people leave homes in Canada as huge wildfires spread
Canada's wildfires, which have already forced evacuations of more than 26,000 people, continued their stubborn spread. Photo: AFP More than 31,000 people were under evacuation across Canada on Wednesday as firefighters battled raging wildfires threatening towns and villages, authorities said. More than 200 fires burning across the country -- half of which are described as being out of control -- have so far scorched more than 2.2 million hectares. The Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces have been hardest hit, with both declaring wildfire emergencies in recent days. "Right now it's not good because people are so scared, and also me," said Tareq Hosen Alin, who runs a hotel in La Ronge in Saskatchewan, where flames have destroyed some businesses. The small town of 2500 people has been evacuated but Tareq Hosen Alin said he had stayed to house first responders and firefighters. "So I'm scared, people lose their property, lose their money, lose their dreams right now," he told AFP. Firefighters across the country have been put on alert, while 140 American personnel are already in Canada to help fight the fires. "We are up against a monster. The last hours have been chaotic," the La Ronge fire department said. The region around La Ronge has several active blazes. One of those has consumed more than 470,000 hectares and is still out of control. Another further west -- also uncontained -- has burned more than 140,000 hectares. The fires have downgraded air quality in central Canada as well as in northern parts of the United States. Wildfire smoke is comprised of gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particle pollution, which can be particularly hazardous to health. Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests were scorched. Most of the ongoing fires have been triggered by human activity -- often accidental -- such as poorly extinguished campfires or the passing of vehicles in extremely dry areas. - AFP
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Wild weather puts Taupo residents on edge
Wild weather swept across the nation and had one small settlement next to Lake Taupo on edge this morning. Homes next to the Taupo-Tauranga River were preparing to evacuate as the waters rose after heavy overnight rain. The weather caused chaos elsewhere too, leading to power outages, road closures and snow. Jimmy Ellingham reports. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
School roof lifted and twisted in storm gales, house roof dumped blocks away
Konini Primary School in Wainuiomata had to be closed on Thursday, after the roof of its library was lifted in a storm. Photo: Supplied Strong winds have lifted and twisted the roof of a school library, and torn the roof off a house, dumping it blocks away, as wild weather sweeps across the country. Wild weather has been felt through much of the country, with strong winds taking out power lines at a number of places in the North Island, leaving hundreds without power. Emergency services responded to 58 callouts for the top of the North Island, mostly for flooding and fallen trees. In the Wellington suburb of Newlands a duplex in Sunhaven Drive was left uninhabitable when the roof was torn off it, and the residents had to be evacuated. Firefighters worked at the scene in the early hours of Thursday morning, tying what they could of the roof down, but a lot of it ended up on another street two blocks away. A house in Newlands had its roof torn apart in strong winds. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii Just over 15km away, in the Lower Hutt suburb of Wainuiomata, the library at Konini Primary School was lifted in the storm overnight, between Wednesday and Thursday. Pictures showed massive steel sheets and timber support beams twisted high up above the building. The roof at Konini Primary School was badly damaged. Photo: Supplied Parents with children at the school were warned to keep their tamariki home for the day: "Overnight weather conditions have caused major damage to the roof of the library, and it is at risk of coming off," the school said on Facebook, on Thursday morning. "Due to current winds the fire service are unable to secure the roof safely." However, during the day teams were able to repair the roof and waterproof it, and parents were told the rest of the school would be open on Friday: "Still lots of work to get our library and resource room usable, but it is safe for students to return to tomorrow." In Newlands, a neighbour of the Sunhaven Drive duplex that lost its roof said he had been woken by loud bangs in the early hours, as debris hit his house. Bingo Jayme said the corrugated iron structure was torn away and flew over trees and neighbouring homes, before coming down, just after 2am. He had struggled to understand what had happened as he searched his property by torchlight in the darkness. "I think somebody was watching over us up there, because if this landed in the middle of our bedroom there's a chance it would have ... you know. "It was very loud and it's the entire roof all the way there." From the scene, RNZ reporter Ruth Hill said the roof looked like it had been peeled back, and there were are bits of insulation blowing all over the road. The roof from the Sunhaven Drive house was blown onto a property in Tamworth Crescent. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii The damaged Sunhaven Drive duplex had pieces of roofing timber sticking up into the air and a council building inspector was looking at the property. But, "I can't see them being able to come home anytime soon though, they have no roof," Hill said. Insulation on the roadside after the Newlands house had its roof ripped off in strong winds. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii Deanna Jones, who lives directly across the road from the house on Sunhaven Drive was woken at 2am by a loud noise. "I heard it lifting off. A bit of wood came off and landed in the cul-de-sac. I think we've got some debris down the back because I heard it coming down our driveway." Two fire crews were on the scene until about 3.30am. "I think they were trying to work out how to secure it, because it's a two-storey property." Her neighbour, Tiff Bock, was oblivious to the drama overnight. "I woke up this morning and saw bits of insulation everywhere on the house, and I thought 'Oh, have I lost a bit of roof'?'. "Then I looked out the window." She was horrified to learn the roof had ended up on Tamworth Crescent, on the hill below her own home. "It's going to be a bit of mess to clean up." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
