As the situation with wildfires deteriorated, some 9,000 residents of Labrador City and Wabush in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador were urgently evacuated.
According to Jeff Motty, the provincial fire duty officer, fires showed "extreme behavior" and traveled at a speed of 50 meters a minute.
Perhaps the most immediate threat
DARREN HULL/AFP via Getty Images
The urgency of the evacuation was underlined by the sheer speed and intensity of the wildfires that rendered traditional firefighting methods, such as water bombing, ineffective.
Another complicating factor was that the towns affected are in remote areas, and residents have to travel over 500 kilometers east to safety on the only road available.
A Community in Shock
Social media pictures revealed long queues of cars at gas stations as people evacuated, and the sky was reportedly darkened by large smoke clouds.
One of the residents of Labrador City, Stacy Hunt, recounted to CBC that she was in shock because the smoke had remained in one spot for hours.
The request to evacuate was corroborated by the Mayor of Labrador City, Belinda Adams, who urged people to leave in a social media video, stating that the fire is still active.
A Nation on High Alert
The Canadian federal authorities have previously indicated that, although the weather had so far been conducive to limiting fires during the early part of the summer, the country was now entering into high wildfire season.
Climate change-induced drier and hotter conditions are putting the country at a bigger risk of major fires.
The previous year was the worst fire season in Canada's history. Canada is operating with 575 active fires, over 400 of those out of control.
This sharp reminder of the increasingly rising trend of wildfires, a case which last experts tie to man-made climate change, is timely. Never more than now has the need and call for addressing the core environmental challenges that trigger such devastating incidents been as loud.
The Canadian government is being quite proactive over the Northeast Canada wildfire crisis.
Federal Coordination and Preparedness
The Government Operations Centre, on behalf of the federal government, has brought a wildfire response team to Level 2: Risk Assessment and Planning. This means there's a heightened state of readiness while the risks are assessed and plans are developed in the event certain scenarios play out.
Updated Wildfire Season Forecast
Public Safety Canada updated its forecast for what is now anticipating a high risk of wildfires prevailing across Canada, especially in drought-sensitive areas. The government actively follows these conditions and appears to update the public quite frequently.
Humanitarian Workforce Program
It has also strengthened its response capability through the Humanitarian Workforce Program. The program helps to build NGO capacity in recruiting and rapidly deploying emergency responders and relief goods. It will focus on addressing the needs of at-risk communities, specifically in the case of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
Indigenous and Local Communities Cooperation
Measures have been taken to work collaboratively with First Nations, provinces, territories, and experts on emergency management. This will consist of a full review of lessons learned from the past wildfire seasons that have occurred to take forward associated preparedness and response strategies for improvement.
Climate Change and Emergency Preparedness
Ministers of such diverse departments as Emergency Preparedness, Energy and Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, and Indigenous Services have been called for discussions on the impact of climate change on wildfires and how to protect Canadians.
It reflects a multi-faceted approach: from forecasting and planning to coordination and community support-the government's response to address the immediate threats and long-term challenges that wildfires pose against communities.
