In early July, there were fierce wildfires in forests fueled by dry conditions in parts of Quebec. This led to many cabins and tourist camps being destroyed and transportation being cut off to isolate communities over the region’s single road, a 370 mile stretch of highway with little or no cell reception.
Many people, such as Joshua Iserhoff, a 45-year-old member of the Cree nation of Nemaska, were forced to find another way out of the local wildfires. He described the fires as “traumatic experiences” while driving through the fierce winds. He said, “The wind was so ferocious it almost picked up the vehicle.”
Ever since May, there have been hundreds of wildfires stretching across Canada burning more than 47,000 square miles of forest, equivalent to the size of New York States. This forced more than 25,000 Indigenous residents to move from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, as stated by Government Officials.
The fires were especially devastating to Indigenous communities, mostly because they rely on the forest for food and their homes are in areas that aren’t directly connected to firefighting services. “Canada Is Ravaged by Fire. No one Has Paid More Dearly Than Indigenous People” states, “The blazes have taken a particularly devastating toll on Indigenous communities because they live on the frontline of many fires and depend on forests for food and their homes are in remote areas that are not a firefighting priority since they are sparsely populated and have few buildings.” Wildfires in Canada have forced many native communities to move away from their home.
Evacuations ordered by community leaders, in tandem with government officials, have lasted weeks, leading to many families being separated across hundreds of miles. Due to Canada’s fire season, many residents have had to escape repeatedly from their homes. According to The New York Times, “Many have had to flee repeatedly already, with a little more than a month left in Canada’s fire season.” This further explains how wildfires have had a huge effect on Canadian residents.
Not only did the Canadian forest fires force residents to move to different parts of Canada, it has also had a tremendous effect on the health of certain members. William Wapachee, 79, said he had lung cancer, and during an 11-hour bus ride from Nemaska to Quebec City, he started coughing and had trouble breathing. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he later received oxygen. Mr. Wapachee states, “I inhaled too much of that smoke. Before, if we had fire, it was only in one place. Now it seems to be a fire here, a fire there, fire everywhere.” The detrimental effect on people’s health have been caused by wildfires.
Another result of the Canadian wildfires is the damage to the “forest ecology and cultural heritage, as stated from The New York Times. Although nobody has been killed by the fires spreading across Canada, they have caused immense damage to the cultural heritage and forest ecology. The New York Times states, “While no one has been killed by the fires that have threatened Indigenous communities, they have inflicted immeasurable damage to the forest ecology.” This is another one of the threatening effects of the uncontrolled fires.
Kurtis Black, the fire Chief of Nemaska, concludes that these fires are here to stay and that it doesn’t plan on leaving before the fall or even worse, the winter. He states, “I don’t think these fires will stop until everything is burned. These fires are here to stay until fall gets here- or the snow.” Another conclusion made is that the fires that have occurred this year have had a great effect on Cree traplines.
Mr. Black continues to order full evacuations as freshly caught sturgeons were left drying on fish racks. The article states, “Mr. Black, Nemaska’s fire Chief, called for the full evacuation of a summer settlement used by the Cree that was near the fires.”
As Diane Amy Tanoush puts on N95 masks for the long boat ride to a landing across a lake, she records a video of her and other people loading bags onto the boat. She says, “It’s starting to get dark. This is our fifth time evacuating.”
Many people, such as Joshua Iserhoff, a 45-year-old member of the Cree nation of Nemaska, were forced to find another way out of the local wildfires. He described the fires as “traumatic experiences” while driving through the fierce winds. He said, “The wind was so ferocious it almost picked up the vehicle.”
Ever since May, there have been hundreds of wildfires stretching across Canada burning more than 47,000 square miles of forest, equivalent to the size of New York States. This forced more than 25,000 Indigenous residents to move from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, as stated by Government Officials.
The fires were especially devastating to Indigenous communities, mostly because they rely on the forest for food and their homes are in areas that aren’t directly connected to firefighting services. “Canada Is Ravaged by Fire. No one Has Paid More Dearly Than Indigenous People” states, “The blazes have taken a particularly devastating toll on Indigenous communities because they live on the frontline of many fires and depend on forests for food and their homes are in remote areas that are not a firefighting priority since they are sparsely populated and have few buildings.” Wildfires in Canada have forced many native communities to move away from their home.
Evacuations ordered by community leaders, in tandem with government officials, have lasted weeks, leading to many families being separated across hundreds of miles. Due to Canada’s fire season, many residents have had to escape repeatedly from their homes. According to The New York Times, “Many have had to flee repeatedly already, with a little more than a month left in Canada’s fire season.” This further explains how wildfires have had a huge effect on Canadian residents.
Not only did the Canadian forest fires force residents to move to different parts of Canada, it has also had a tremendous effect on the health of certain members. William Wapachee, 79, said he had lung cancer, and during an 11-hour bus ride from Nemaska to Quebec City, he started coughing and had trouble breathing. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he later received oxygen. Mr. Wapachee states, “I inhaled too much of that smoke. Before, if we had fire, it was only in one place. Now it seems to be a fire here, a fire there, fire everywhere.” The detrimental effect on people’s health have been caused by wildfires.
Another result of the Canadian wildfires is the damage to the “forest ecology and cultural heritage, as stated from The New York Times. Although nobody has been killed by the fires spreading across Canada, they have caused immense damage to the cultural heritage and forest ecology. The New York Times states, “While no one has been killed by the fires that have threatened Indigenous communities, they have inflicted immeasurable damage to the forest ecology.” This is another one of the threatening effects of the uncontrolled fires.
Kurtis Black, the fire Chief of Nemaska, concludes that these fires are here to stay and that it doesn’t plan on leaving before the fall or even worse, the winter. He states, “I don’t think these fires will stop until everything is burned. These fires are here to stay until fall gets here- or the snow.” Another conclusion made is that the fires that have occurred this year have had a great effect on Cree traplines.
Mr. Black continues to order full evacuations as freshly caught sturgeons were left drying on fish racks. The article states, “Mr. Black, Nemaska’s fire Chief, called for the full evacuation of a summer settlement used by the Cree that was near the fires.”
As Diane Amy Tanoush puts on N95 masks for the long boat ride to a landing across a lake, she records a video of her and other people loading bags onto the boat. She says, “It’s starting to get dark. This is our fifth time evacuating.”
