At the beginning of July, wildfires raged in Canada. These fires destroyed many trees, tourist sites, and other important parts of Canada’s landscape as well as stopped transportation to indigenous communities. When people were trying to leave when the evacuation orders were issued along Billy Diamond Highway, they encountered flames on the road.
“I honestly wasn’t sure we’d make it out,” said Joshua Iserhoff, a member of the Cree nation of Nemaska who was forced to turn back with his family and who, like other residents, eventually found another way out. Since May, wildfires in Canada have burned more than 47,000 square miles, the size of New York. These fires destroyed Indigenous communities the most because they live closer to the forests where the fires occur.
Canadian wildfires’ frequency and intensity are connected to climate change. On Friday, there were more than 1,000 wildfires burning in Canada with more than 600 of them out of control. Evacuations by the Indigenous people have lasted for weeks with the separation of families being unfortunately all too common. When evacuating, people were put in gyms and hotels. Many people needed to flee to be safe.
“I honestly wasn’t sure we’d make it out,” said Joshua Iserhoff, a member of the Cree nation of Nemaska who was forced to turn back with his family and who, like other residents, eventually found another way out. Since May, wildfires in Canada have burned more than 47,000 square miles, the size of New York. These fires destroyed Indigenous communities the most because they live closer to the forests where the fires occur.
Canadian wildfires’ frequency and intensity are connected to climate change. On Friday, there were more than 1,000 wildfires burning in Canada with more than 600 of them out of control. Evacuations by the Indigenous people have lasted for weeks with the separation of families being unfortunately all too common. When evacuating, people were put in gyms and hotels. Many people needed to flee to be safe.