Latest news with #CanadianInteragencyForestFireCentre
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Visiting Vimy: A personal reflection on patriotism
Free Press theatre reviewers spent last week and weekend hopping from venue to venue to get the skinny on all 140-plus productions at this year's Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, which runs to July 27. We've posted reviews of every play. Find an index of our reviews here, sortable by title and by star review — or if you prefer a bit of serendipity in your review perusal, scroll through 15 pages of reviews in our fringe section (plus profiles, previews and daily happenings). COMING UP The intricacies of Indian status, as defined by Ottawa, can be difficult to navigate. However, what is clear is access to treaty rights for many future First Nations children is threatened by a section of federal legislation called 'second-generation cut-off.' Investigative reporter Marsha McLeod explores efforts to repeal the policy, which has been described as discriminatory and assimilationist. While forest fires rage across Western Canada, a group of experts huddle in a small office in Winnipeg keeping tabs on everything. Their work is a complicated, highly co-ordinated administrative dance involving partners from around the world. Reporter Nicole Buffie goes behind the scenes at the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre as Manitoba grapples with one of its worst wildfire seasons on record. Since the mid-2000s, entertainer José 'Pepê' Cortes has held down a Las Vegas-style residency at the Pony Corral Restaurant & Bar three nights a week, entertaining riverside patio diners with toe-tapping favourites. Feature writer David Sanderson profiles the longtime fixture of Winnipeg's musical scene. Jose 'Pepe' Cortes on the patio at the Pony Corral on Pembina Highway, where he performs summer evenings. (Brook Jones / Free Press) In sports, the second half of the American Association of Professional Baseball league picks up Thursday after the all-star break, with the Winnipeg Goldeyes hosting a season-long seven-game homestand at Blue Cross Park. Zoe Pierce catches up with the Fish Thursday in the four-game series opener against the Chicago Dogs, teeing up the team's hunt for a place in the post-season. And the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are on the road Saturday in a Grey Cup rematch against the Toronto Argonauts. Joshua Frey-Sam brings the action from the sidelines and the storylines to follow as the Blue and Gold try to get back on a winning streak in Week 8. Rita Menzies, who died in June at age 82, led one of the most august careers in Manitoba's arts sector. She was Manitoba Chamber Orchestra's most formative general manager (a position she held for 25 years), the 'saviour' of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, where she solved a $3-million deficit in one year as its interim leader, and a key leader of a number of other arts organization. Conrad Sweatman talks to her friends, family and peers for this week's Passages profile. ONE GREAT PHOTO A work crew installs scaffolding for the Gimli International Film Festival screen at the beach on Lake Winnipeg Tuesday. The festival, celebrating its 25th anniversary, began today and ends Sunday. See our story. (Don Gislason photo)
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Nova Scotia firefighters travel to Saskatchewan to help battle wildfires
When Nova Scotia firefighter Cody Wilkins first saw the Saskatchewan wildfires that continue to burn out of control, he said he knew what had to be done. 'I think we need to be out there and help,' said Wilkins, who fights fires for Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources. Wilkins is one of 20 firefighters heading to Saskatchewan, and they all share the same belief — that their training has prepared them to meet the challenge of this moment. 'Definitely, this is fulfilling, and it fills us with pride to help out,' said Wilkins, who acknowledges that battling as many as 51 active fires will be dangerous. 'You're always going in with caution, and safety is our main goal. We try not to put ourselves into anything too dangerous.' This is the second time this year that Nova Scotia has sent firefighters to help with wildfires in Saskatchewan. 'We should be there for two weeks this time,' said firefighter Aaron Hayne, who is bracing for the reality of living in a tent and working long, hazardous hours. Nova Scotia's contribution to fighting the wildfires is part of a greater multi-country team effort. 'This is all coordinated through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre in Winnipeg,' said Nova Scotia forest protection manager Scott Tingley. According to Tingley, an urgent call for help has been sent out. Firefighters from other Canadian provinces, along with Mexico and Australia, have also travelled to Saskatchewan. 'It's actually becoming an international effort these last few years, and we are doing our best as a country to come together,' said Tingley. 'I feel extremely proud and happy to see the world stepping up and joining the effort,' said Wilkins, who is part of a group of brave Nova Scotia firefighters putting themselves in danger to battle wildfires more than 4,000 kilometres from home.
Hamilton Spectator
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Federal officials say wildfire forecast shows high risk of more fires in August
OTTAWA - The 2025 wildfire season is already one of the worst on record for Canada, federal officials said Friday, and there is a high risk that more fires will break out in August. More than 55,000 square kilometres of land has burned so far this year, an area roughly the size of Nova Scotia. That is more than double the 10-year average of the area burned by mid-July. There were 561 fires burning as of Friday morning, including 69 that were considered out of control. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre says almost 3,300 fires have been recorded this year so far. The record was set in 2023, when more than 6,000 fires burned more than 150,000 square km of land — an area larger than all three Maritime provinces put together. That devastating season, where wildfires raged from Newfoundland to B.C. for months on end, sparked significant public pressure for the federal government to create a new kind of disaster response agency. Former emergency management ministers Bill Blair and Harjit Sajjan both mulled the idea of such an agency during their time in office, with both ministers acknowledging the strain natural disasters have put on the Canadian Armed Forces and the provinces and territories. The government said it was looking to the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency and Australia's National Emergency Management Agency as potential examples. Final decisions on that front still have not been made. During a Friday afternoon briefing with several of her cabinet colleagues, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said her department will be making changes to how it responds to wildfire seasons, which are becoming longer and more severe. 'We think that the formation of such an agency could have a very positive impact on our ability to co-ordinate how we respond to national disasters across the country,' Olszewski said. That could mean having regional water bombers to respond more quickly to fires in areas that have fewer resources, she said, or leaning on a 'humanitarian task force' to ensure people can be deployed where they're needed. Matthew Godsoe, a senior director of the government operations centre at Public Safety Canada, said natural disasters are outpacing the capacity of the country's emergency management system. 'In that current context, maintaining the status quo is equivalent to doing less,' he told reporters at a technical briefing Friday, adding that all levels of government and individual Canadians must work together 'to slow or stop this nearly exponential growth in disaster losses that we're experiencing as a country.' The federal government has been called in to provide help five times this wildfire season, including last week, when the Armed Forces and the Red Cross helped to evacuate more than 2,800 people from Garden Hill First Nation in Manitoba. Olszewski said she expects to have an update on a federal emergency agency in the fall. In the meantime, communities in high-risk areas are bracing for things to get worse in the next two months, which are typically the most active months of the fire season. Saskatchewan has already seen one of the worst fire seasons ever in terms of the total area burned, and a record number of people have been forced out of their homes in that province. Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said 39,000 people have been forced to evacuate from 66 First Nations, mostly on the Prairies, calling the fire season unprecedented. 'It is, I hope, not the new reality that we have to live with, but I'm asking myself what this looks like,' she said. Gull-Masty said the government's goal at the end of the wildfire season is to 'come together, debrief, reflect, and put tools in place for the next possible time that this occurs.' Officials said the fire risk typically rises throughout August as temperatures get hotter, and they are predicting higher than normal temperatures for most of the country next month. 'This is consistent with climate change projections, which show that the next five years will be warmer than (we) are used to,' said Sébastien Chouinard, the director of operations at the Canadian Meteorological Centre. August is also slated to bring below-normal rainfall levels for the Prairies, B.C. and the Maritimes. More than 530 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Mexico and the U.S. are in Canada to help. Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said his department is setting aside $11.7 million over four years to create the Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada, an agency he said will 'connect domestic, international governments, the private sector, wildfire scientists and experts and affected communities to share knowledge, science and technology so we can fight fires better.' The consortium is part of Canada's commitment to a wildfire co-operation charter that was signed at the G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Alta., this summer. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
National Observer
6 days ago
- Politics
- National Observer
High risk of more wildfires for Canada in August
The 2025 wildfire season is already one of the worst on record for Canada, federal officials said Friday, and there is a high risk that more fires will break out in August. More than 55,000 square kilometres of land has burned so far this year, an area roughly the size of Nova Scotia. That is more than double the 10-year average of the area burned by mid-July. There were 561 fires burning as of Friday morning, including 69 that were considered out of control. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre says almost 3,300 fires have been recorded this year so far. The record was set in 2023, when more than 6,000 fires burned more than 150,000 square km of land — an area larger than all three Maritime provinces put together. That devastating season, where wildfires raged from Newfoundland to B.C. for months on end, sparked significant public pressure for the federal government to create a new kind of disaster response agency. Former emergency management ministers Bill Blair and Harjit Sajjan both mulled the idea of such an agency during their time in office, with both ministers acknowledging the strain natural disasters have put on the Canadian Armed Forces and the provinces and territories. The government said it was looking to the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency and Australia's National Emergency Management Agency as potential examples. The 2025 wildfire season is already one of the worst on record for Canada, federal officials said Friday, and there is a high risk that more fires will break out in August. Final decisions on that front still have not been made. During a Friday afternoon briefing with several of her cabinet colleagues, Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said her department will be making changes to how it responds to wildfire seasons, which are becoming longer and more severe. "We think that the formation of such an agency could have a very positive impact on our ability to co-ordinate how we respond to national disasters across the country," Olszewski said. That could mean having regional water bombers to respond more quickly to fires in areas that have fewer resources, she said, or leaning on a "humanitarian task force" to ensure people can be deployed where they're needed. Matthew Godsoe, a senior director of the government operations centre at Public Safety Canada, said natural disasters are outpacing the capacity of the country's emergency management system. "In that current context, maintaining the status quo is equivalent to doing less," he told reporters at a technical briefing Friday, adding that all levels of government and individual Canadians must work together "to slow or stop this nearly exponential growth in disaster losses that we're experiencing as a country." The federal government has been called in to provide help five times this wildfire season, including last week, when the Armed Forces and the Red Cross helped to evacuate more than 2,800 people from Garden Hill First Nation in Manitoba. Olszewski said she expects to have an update on a federal emergency agency in the fall. In the meantime, communities in high-risk areas are bracing for things to get worse in the next two months, which are typically the most active months of the fire season. Saskatchewan has already seen one of the worst fire seasons ever in terms of the total area burned, and a record number of people have been forced out of their homes in that province. Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said 39,000 people have been forced to evacuate from 66 First Nations, mostly on the Prairies, calling the fire season unprecedented. "It is, I hope, not the new reality that we have to live with, but I'm asking myself what this looks like," she said. Gull-Masty said the government's goal at the end of the wildfire season is to "come together, debrief, reflect, and put tools in place for the next possible time that this occurs." Officials said the fire risk typically rises throughout August as temperatures get hotter, and they are predicting higher than normal temperatures for most of the country next month. "This is consistent with climate change projections, which show that the next five years will be warmer than (we) are used to," said Sébastien Chouinard, the director of operations at the Canadian Meteorological Centre. August is also slated to bring below-normal rainfall levels for the Prairies, B.C. and the Maritimes. More than 530 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Mexico and the U.S. are in Canada to help. Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said his department is setting aside $11.7 million over four years to create the Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada, an agency he said will "connect domestic, international governments, the private sector, wildfire scientists and experts and affected communities to share knowledge, science and technology so we can fight fires better."
Global News
6 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
2025 wildfire season one of the worst on record, and it's not over yet: government
The Canadian wildfire season continues with twice the area burned so far this year compared to the average for the past decade, according to the latest technical briefing from the Government of Canada. And it's expected to continue through September. Hot temperatures combined with dry conditions have led to one of the most severe wildfire seasons on record, the report said, and western Canada has been 'disproportionately' impacted, with the region having the most area burned so far. The fires have led to multiple air quality warnings issued throughout parts of the country. How bad are the wildfires in 2025? The National Preparedness Level classifies the amount of national resources committed to an area, as well as the demand for interagency resources through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), according to Natural Resources Canada. Story continues below advertisement As of July 18, the National Preparedness Level is at 5, the highest on the scale. Specifically, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are at Level 5, while most other provinces and territories are at Level 3. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Currently, there are 561 active wildfires in Canada, compared to 544 on July 17, with 69 considered 'Out of Control,' the report says. Although Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory have recorded the most fires so far in 2025, British Columbia and Alberta currently have the highest number of fires with a 'Full Response.' And more than 5.5 million hectares have been burned since the start of January through to July 18 — more than double the 10-year average of 2.12 million. The report says higher than normal temperatures and below average rainfall may be key factors that have contributed to the intense and frequent wildfires in regions most impacted. In the period from July 2024 to June 2025, temperatures were higher than normal across most of Canada, while B.C. saw close to normal values. In the month of June 2025, regions along the U.S. border were reported as having above normal temperatures. Drought conditions were seen consistently across Canada over the past 12 months, and this has been the case for more than two years, the briefing says. Meanwhile, from April to June of 2025, 'significantly lower than normal' rainfall was seen from B.C across to northwestern Ontario. Story continues below advertisement Eastern regions saw higher than normal precipitation levels from April to June of 2025. 1:56 Air quality alerts issued as wildfire smoke sweeps across central Canada Will the situation improve later this season? At the end of June, Environment and Climate Change Canada projected a high probability of above normal temperatures for 'nearly all Canadian regions,' from July to September. Precipitation levels, too, are forecasted to be below normal for B.C. and the Prairies. Story continues below advertisement More immediately, the rest of July is expected to continue seeing an elevated fire danger throughout western Canada, with the highest fire danger focused on the southern part of Northwest Territories due to ongoing dry conditions. In August, above average summer temperatures are expected to continue for most of Canada, the report says, with most of eastern Canada expected to see more rainfall, and likely a lower wildfire risk overall. B.C. is expected to have the highest fire danger in August, which is somewhat consistent compared to previous reports.
