Forest Fires In West And Central Canada, 26,000 Residents Evacuated

Illustration of forest and land fires (karhutla). (Unsplash-John Towner)

JAKARTA - More than 26,000 residents in the western and central regions of Canada, including the communities of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta were forced to flee due to widespread forest fires, according to local authorities and media reports.

The Canadian Forest Fire Inter-Agency Center (CIFFC) reported that as of Sunday, June 1, there were 187 fire points throughout Canada, with 97 of them categorized as out of control.

Local media quoted local officials as saying that more than 17,000 people had been evacuated from Manitoba, 8,000 from Saskatchewan, and 1,300 others from Alberta.

In a statement via platform X, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the federal government had activated the National Incident Response Group in line with the increasing intensity of fires that triggered mass evacuations and requests for military aid.

Carney said Canadian Armed Forces personnel had been deployed to assist with air evacuation in Manitoba, including the Mathias Colomb Creep Nation community.

He also stressed that the federal government will match any donations given to the Canadian Red Cross to help affected areas, as well as cooperate with provincial governments and traditional community leaders to ensure the safety of citizens.

"The scale and complexity of this air evacuation cannot be underestimated," Carney wrote on platform X quoted from Anadolu.

A number of evacuation centers have opened in various areas in Manitoba, including the city ofger located about 20 kilometers from the United States border.

Meanwhile, fire smoke reportedly flew into the central US region and a large lake, sparking warnings of air quality in a number of states such as the Upper NBA and Great Lakes.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Saturday (31/5) announced it had sent a fireplane and 150 firefighters to help contain it in Alberta.