Military joins wildfire fight in Canada’s far north

Canada’s military has been deployed to the far north on Sunday to combat the hundreds of uncontrollable wildfires, while residents of remote communities are evacuating due to the advancing blazes.

Meanwhile, the province of British Columbia, located on Canada’s Pacific Coast, is preparing for a heat wave that is expected to further intensify the fires currently burning there.

Defense Minister Bill Blair expressed solidarity with the people of the Northwest Territories, who are currently facing severe wildfires, stating on X (formerly known as Twitter), “In response to a request for assistance, the @CanadianForces will help with firefighting efforts, air transportation, and planning, coordination, and logistics.”

The specific number of military personnel deployed has not been disclosed, but in recent months, the Canadian military has sent hundreds of troops to four other provinces to aid in firefighting efforts along with nearly 11,000 firefighters, including 5,000 from other countries.

This wildfire season has seen megafires spread across the country with unprecedented intensity, forcing 168,000 Canadians to evacuate their homes. The fires have scorched 13.5 million hectares, nearly twice the area of the previous record of 7.3 million hectares, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC).