Officially described as “out of control”, the fires threatened Quebec’s infrastructure further east.
Wildfires are common in Canada’s western territories, but this year the fires have spread so quickly across the east of the country, making it the worst start to a fire season ever.
Why are fires recurrent in Canada?
The fires in Canada have sparked a new discussion on social media regarding the reasons for the recurrence and even the expansion of the fires, and why they were not controlled by the government, and some accused them of not respecting the safety and security standards.
In this regard, the American researcher in political affairs, Mahdi Afifi, denies the government’s negligence in the matter, attributing the recurrence of fires in Canada, America and Africa to climate change and the rising temperatures that accompany it.
He explained to ‘Sky News Arabia’ that “when the dry branches come up, they ignite, leading to frequent large fires which are difficult to control, especially in areas where the drought is increasing, and despite this they try.”
Muhammad al-Yamani, an expert in international relations, disagrees with him, pointing to the existence of negligence and negligence on the part of the Canadian government for two reasons.
The other reason is “non-compliance with security standards”, noting that the government there “requires employees with experience and without experience in the field of safety and security”.
Officially, Emergency Preparedness Secretary Bill Blair announced on Wednesday that some 9.4 million acres had burned, nearly 15 times the 10-year average.
With alarming figures, he indicated that to date there are 414 burning fires across the country, of which 239 are classified as out of control, pointing to the existence of “continuous repercussions on important infrastructures in Quebec, such as such as the closure of roads and rural areas, interrupting communications and threatening high voltage power lines due to the growth of fires.
New York suffering
The dangers and effects of the fires have spread from Canada to its neighbor, the United States, which has altered the air in some of its regions, particularly New York, due to air pollution from fire smoke.
Afifi comments that this is “the first time New York has suffered from air pollution in a long time, and government places and schools have closed, and even residents have been barred from going out.”
For his part, al-Yamani points out that the United States is suffering from the fires in its neighbor, and that he has previously stressed that the Canadian government must find a solution to these fires.
US President Joe Biden offered Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a phone call on Wednesday to help put out the “devastating and historic” wildfires raging in Canada, the White House said.
And the US presidency said in a statement that Biden “has directed his team to provide all federal firefighting capabilities that can quickly help put out the fires affecting Canadian and American communities.”
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