Current:Home > MarketsSummer of Smoke: Inside Canada's hub of operations as nation battles 5,000 wildfires -Excel Wealth Summit
Summer of Smoke: Inside Canada's hub of operations as nation battles 5,000 wildfires
View
Date:2025-04-14 06:40:14
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The country known as "The Great White North" is also known for being green, as Canada is home to nearly 10% of the world's forests.
Those same forests, however, are now the fuel to what is perhaps the most intense wildfire season in the nation's history, if not the most significant wildfire crisis around the globe. More than 5,000 fires have raged since May across Canada, tearing through at least 29 million acres of land — and counting.
Tens of thousands of Canadians have been displaced from their homes because of the flames, while the mountainous plumes of smoke continue to pollute large swaths of North America, including Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as other parts of the Midwest and East Coast.
To help bring answers to what's happening — and why — CBS Minnesota station WCCO traveled to Canada to spend several days north of the border and was among the very first American news operations to get inside access to firefighting operations.
"Typically we deal with five to 10 to 25 to 50 new fires a day," Ontario wildfire officer Chris Marchand explained to WCCO News. "That's the grind of the summer fire season, to knock those fires off the list and to respond to the new ones that come up."
RELATED: What to do during an air quality alert: Expert advice on how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke
Indeed, every Canadian province and territory has been affected, from Newfoundland in the east to British Columbia in the west to the prairies in between.
"I was born and raised in Alberta, and I have been here for most of my life. I have to say we haven't seen a season like this," Alberta wildlife officer Christie Tucker lamented. "Our last record for area burned was set 40 years ago, and we've broken that already and it's not even the end of the season yet."
Mike Westwick, Northwest Territories wildfire officer, said the province has ordered more evacuations this year than it had for decades.
"This is a really severe fire season," Westwick said.
In Quebec, Deborah Beard is one of the more than 2,000 American firefighters who have crossed the border to join the lifesaving effort.
"We've been told that these are fires they have not had even recorded in anybody's lifetime. It's historically dry for them," Beard said. "It is nothing but a contiguous forest of fuel."
Inside CIFFC: "You work with where you can be successful"
WCCO News worked with multiple government ministries, in addition to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. According to officials, all firefighting operations are led by each province and territory, including strategizing how, where and when to direct resources to specific fires within their provincial lines.
One quasi-official organization, however, has emerged as the key hub of resource-sharing and multi-front operations: the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, CIFFC.
Established in 1982, CIFFC is a federally-supported not-for-profit organization whose specific mandate is to "improve Canadian wildland fire management," and it's a mission now that has perhaps as much urgency as any time in its history.
RELATED: How to protect your pets from wildfire smoke
"We're active everywhere, and all agencies are actively involved in suppressing fires in their own backyards," Dave Bokovay, CIFFC director of operations, told WCCO News. "We've reached out to right around the globe. We have firefighters and representatives on the ground from almost all continents except Antarctica. We've all got all continents providing resources to help support the situation."
The office itself is underwhelming, located in a Winnipeg strip mall only minutes from the city's airport.
"I hope this is not the new normal. I think we have to be prepared for these seasons in the future and that we may see more of this significant activity in the future," Bokovay said.
In addition to an operations room, there are several makeshift offices inside the complex, many of which are adorned with flags of the 12 nations that have provided both firefighters and firefighting apparatus to Canada.
"We did bring Chile in, we brought Portugal, Spain, Korea, Brazil. All brand-new countries that we have not had a pre-established relationship, and made interim plans to bring those folks in," Bokovay said. "Our longest relationship is with the United States. We've had an agreement with the U.S. since 1982 and we've exchanged resources either from the U.S. to Canada or from Canada to the U.S. or both every year except for three since 1982. Our biggest collaborator has been the United States."
RELATED: As air quality alerts from Canadian wildfires continue, now's the time to audit your home's energy efficiency
As to how those resources are allocated, Bokovay said each province makes a request to CIFFC, which then coordinates that request with the corresponding country.
"We're planning for a marathon versus a sprint, and I think that's the way we've had to look at it the last couple of months," he said. "This is what we do. Our challenge is to support our fire management agencies and provide them with as many resources as we can possibly find. We find it a challenge, but we find it rewarding when we're able to do that."
And they'll have to do it without ever knowing when this will end.
- In:
- Wildfires
- Canada
Jonah Kaplan is WCCO and CBS News Minnesota's investigative reporter and has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues including the economy, immigration, education, public safety, and the military, among others.
Twitter FacebookveryGood! (93352)
Related
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Where did Mardi Gras start in the US? You may be thinking it's New Orleans but it's not.
- The Best Earmuffs for Winter That You Didn't Know You Needed (for Extra Warmth and Style)
- How Raquel Leviss Really Feels About Tom Sandoval Saying He's Still in Love With Her
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- White House to require assurances from countries receiving weapons that they're abiding by U.S. law
- Hiker missing for a week is found dead on towering, snow-covered Southern California mountain
- Patrick Mahomes wins Super Bowl MVP for third time after pushing Chiefs to thrilling OT win
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Older workers find a less tolerant workplace: Why many say age discrimination abounds
Ranking
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- How Patrick Mahomes led Chiefs on a thrilling 13-play, 75-yard Super Bowl 58 winning drive
- Super Bowl photos: Chiefs, Taylor Swift celebrate NFL title
- Why Taylor Swift Has Never Headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Where To Buy the Best Wedding Guest Dresses for Every Dress Code
- How Raquel Leviss Really Feels About Tom Sandoval Saying He's Still in Love With Her
- University of Arizona looks to ‘reset’ athletics budget. What does that mean for sports?
Recommendation
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
The San Francisco 49ers lost Super Bowl 58. What happens to the championship shirts, hats?
Judge orders Elon Musk to testify in SEC probe of his $44 billion Twitter takeover in 2022
Beyoncé's new country singles break the internet and highlight genre's Black roots
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Disney on Ice Skater Hospitalized in Serious Condition After Fall During Show
Feel the need for speed? Late president’s 75-mph speedboat is up for auction
Virginia’s Youngkin aims to bolster mental health care, part of national focus after the pandemic