OTTAWA: The ongoing wildfire crisis in Canada has reached unprecedented proportions, with officials warning that the raging fires have shown no sign of abating in September as well. Providing the national update on this year's fire season through a press conference on Thursday, the federal authorities of Canada stated that the country witnessed 6,174 wildfires, two of which have exceeded one million hectares, reports Xinhua news agency.
As per the data made public by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, nearly 1,000 wildfires are raging across the country to date, with more than 600 designated as out-of-control. A top official at Natural Resources Canada said there is potential for increased wildland fire activity across Central Canada, from the eastern half of the province of Alberta to Ontario.
"This is largely in alignment with last month's forecast, which anticipated that the potential area at extreme risk would include southern British Columbia, the Prairies, part of Northwest Territories, and western Ontario," Michael Martin, director general at Natural Resources Canada, said at the press conference.
In recent months, raging wildfires threatened the country's critical infrastructures while forcing the authorities to issue over 200 evacuation orders. Meanwhile, the Canadian economy has been impacted by the wildfires. IANS
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