The 2023 Canadian wildfires continue: BC asks for 1000 more international firefighters

As the wildfire situation in Eastern Canada is now somewhat under control, hundreds of wildfire are currently burning in northwestern and central British Columbia.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were more than 350 wildfires burning in the province of British Columbia, primarily in northern and central B.C., reports the CBC. 

Help to fight the BC forest fires is expected this Thursday. British Columbia has requested 1,000 additional international firefighters.

Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma has said a team from Australia is arriving on Saturday, adding to the 160 international personnel from Mexico and the United States which currently helping B.C.

Ma says the Australians on the way are an "incident management team", according to CBC News. 

Firefighters from South Korea, France, South Africa and the Dominican Republic have also been fighting fires in various  parts Canada.

Statistics over the history of wildfires is pointing towards 2023 becoming a record-breaking fire season.

Very smoky and unhealthy conditions have been recorded in several towns and cities, including Prince George, BC. 

A 19-year old firefighter died last week in an accident fighting the BC wildfires. During the same week, another Canadian firefighter died from injuries in the ongoing wildfires in the Northwest Territories.

Editorial note, August 1, 2023

In Canada, more than 30 million acres of land had burned in 2023 as of July 31, according to Wikipedia. This is reportedly about 3 percent of the forested land in the entire country.  

Wildfire season in Canada 2023 was already in the beginning of the summer considered the worst on record in the country, and has caused air quality alerts and smoky skies for tens of millions of people on both sides of the US border.  Smoke from Canadian wildfires also reached Europe in the end of June.   

Of the 1,042 active wildfires, 671 were deemed "out of control". International aid has helped reduce the impact of the fires. 

Photo Credit: (Cover photo above) An aerial view of the Donnie Creek Wildfire is shown in this handout image provided by the BC Wildfire Service. The Donnie Creek fire is one of hundreds of fires which have been burning in British Columbia during the last month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BC Wildfire Service **MANDATORY CREDIT**