Highlights: Firefighters, aided by reinforcements from around the world, are at work, but many blazes are still out of control. Hectare after hectare, the provinces of Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec and now British Columbia go up in smoke under the helpless gaze. In total, there are still more than 120 active fires in Quebec. Authorities are counting on rain forecast in the coming days, but it will take a lot to completely stop these fires of unprecedented magnitude and summer hasn't started yet.

It is still difficult to see the best on the Canadian fire front. Firefighters, helped by reinforcements from all over the world, are at work, but many blazes are still out of the woods.

Canada still engulfed in flames despite the arrival of foreign firefighters

It is still difficult to see the best on the Canadian fire front. Firefighters, aided by reinforcements from around the world, are at work, but many blazes are still out of control. Hectare after hectare, the provinces of Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec and now British Columbia go up in smoke under the helpless gaze. An update on the situation.

Montreal shrouded in fog, particles in the air from forest fires in northern Quebec. AFP - ANDREJ IVANOV

Text by: RFI Follow

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In the Quebec region of Abitibi, north of Montreal, the situation is still not under control. To get to this mining region facing the most violent fires, you have to drive hundreds of kilometers north, from the most populated cities in Quebec, further south, says our special envoy to Canada, Guillaume Naudin. Cross forests that according to the winds are covered with sheets of smoke, "buccane", as they say here. And it is not always possible to see the sky. When this is the case, we see Canadair, water bomber planes. At the end of the day, Friday, June 9, there were at least six on the tarmac of the Val-d'Or regional airport. This is because the fire still threatens cities in the region.

While some of the residents of Chibougamau and Indigenous communities in Lac-Simon have been able to return to their homes, other cities are still evacuated. This is the case of Normétal and Lebel on Québillon. In total, there are still more than 120 active fires in Quebec. This does not prevent the inhabitants of Val-d'Or from going about their business, including outdoors. But the city maintains resources in place, including hundreds of cots in a gym. Because Val-d'Or is ready to welcome residents located further north. There is still a lot of forest that is likely to burn depending on the evolution of the weather situation. Authorities are counting on rain forecast in the coming days. But it will take a lot to completely stop these fires of unprecedented magnitude. And summer hasn't started yet.

On Friday night, in the eastern province of Alberta, an evacuation order was issued for Yellowhead County and the Town of Edson.

>> Also listen: Uncontrolled mega-forest fires ravaging Quebec

Large-scale international assistance

Three hundred soldiers also provide logistical support to firefighters by preparing landing pads or clearing the forest to build firewalls. A hundred men and women from Nova Scotia, where the fires have decreased in recent days, also come to help their Quebec colleagues in the Abitibi region.

The multiplication of fires from one end of Canada to the other for several weeks complicates the task of firefighters on the ground. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre is seeking assistance from abroad. Already, a hundred American firefighters are at work in the West, and US President Joe Biden has promised to send 600 additional firefighters. A hundred French people are going into action on June 10 in Quebec, reports our correspondent in Quebec, Pascale Guéricolas.

Coming mainly from southern France, firefighters and civil security soldiers will work closely with Quebec firefighters. The group brought 14 tons of equipment, including kilometers of pipes, to intervene with as much autonomy as possible. Faced with fires several tens of kilometers long, the soldiers of the fire will benefit from the assistance of air tankers that spray the blaze. The helicopters on site intervene in a targeted manner to drop water balloons.

>> Read also: In Canada, the gigantic logistical challenge in the face of flames

It was a matter of time. For several years, major forest fires have been affecting western Canada. By dint of climate change and after a particularly hot and dry spring, the phenomenon arrived in the East with an intensity never seen before, as explained by the environmental activist and president of Action boréale, Henri Jacob...

Canada still engulfed in flames despite the arrival of foreign firefighters

Canada still engulfed in flames despite the arrival of foreign firefighters

Large-scale international assistance

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