Officials including the Prime Minister are warning this will be a severe year for forest fires. In a growing number of provinces, it already is. So, are we ready?
Front Burner25:03As fires rage, Canada urged to get on ‘war footing’
Forest fire season has come in with a bang. A record-setting blaze in Nova Scotia, plus sprawling fires in Alberta and now Quebec have claimed homes and forced tens of thousands to flee.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned this week federal modelling shows we’re entering an especially severe wildfire season. He also pledged the Canadian government would be there with “whatever it takes to keep people safe, and provide support.”
But do we have the capacity? What is the plan to fight the fires of the future?
Wildfire ecologist Robert Gray explains why Canada should get on a “war footing” to address these climate-change enhanced super-fires.