A second firefighter has died in Canada after being injured fighting the country’s mega-fires, two days after the first casualty was claimed, authorities said Sunday.
“It is with deep sadness that we report the tragic death of a firefighter who died from an injury sustained while fighting a wildfire in the Fort Liard district on Saturday afternoon,” said Jessica Davey-Quantick of Northwest Territories Relief.
This death occurred in the south of this region, near the province of British Columbia, where a 19-year-old firefighter lost her life on Thursday during a fall in an intervention.
“We must never forget the service and sacrifices of our first responders,” said Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair.
10 million hectares burned
The Northwest Territories are facing a very severe drought this year and several temperature records have been broken in some places in recent days.
Currently, 89 fires are ongoing in this region, 12 of which are out of control. More than 809,000 hectares have already burned in this area.
Faced with a record year in terms of fires and especially with many mega-fires, Canada is forced to let the majority burn. In total, more than 10 million hectares have already burned this year, a total far greater than anything the country has ever known, and the equivalent of the surface of Portugal.
It is mainly the boreal forest that goes up in smoke, far from inhabited areas, thus causing little material and human damage. But with serious consequences for the environment.
Source: BFM TV
