Recent wildfires occurring in Canada are found to be especially impacting the indigenous communities in the area. As of today, $55 million has already been paid by Canada’s Department of Indigenous Services to assist struggling communities, emphasizing the graveness of the situation.
The wildfires have isolated numerous indigenous communities, cutting off transportation and communication. Several fires have crossed the Canada-US border within the last twenty-four hours.
These fires have been raging nonstop since May, already damaging over 47,000 square miles of forest and ruining the homes of over 25,000 indigenous peoples (according to Canada’s government). The size of this area is immense, equaling that of New York.
The causes of the fires are closely linked to Climate Change. At present, there are around 1,000 wildfires burning in Canada, 664 of them labeled ‘out of control’. One-third of these fires are stationed in the British Columbia region of Canada.
Although evacuation orders were issued soon after the wildfires started, it wasn’t before residents had already tried to escape their wrath, as the Washington Post had stated.
Joshua Iserhoff (45), who managed to escape the fire, vividly described the terrifying experience: “The wind was so ferocious it almost lifted our vehicle off the ground.” As they faced flames and smoke, he and his family feared for their lives, unsure if they would make it out unharmed.
The most frightening thing out of it all is that many have already had to “flee repeatedly…, with a little more than a month left in Canada’s fire season,” according to the Washington Post. A lung cancer patient also reportedly inhaled too much of the smoke and was rushed to a nearby hospital because of it.
The wildfires have isolated numerous indigenous communities, cutting off transportation and communication. Several fires have crossed the Canada-US border within the last twenty-four hours.
These fires have been raging nonstop since May, already damaging over 47,000 square miles of forest and ruining the homes of over 25,000 indigenous peoples (according to Canada’s government). The size of this area is immense, equaling that of New York.
The causes of the fires are closely linked to Climate Change. At present, there are around 1,000 wildfires burning in Canada, 664 of them labeled ‘out of control’. One-third of these fires are stationed in the British Columbia region of Canada.
Although evacuation orders were issued soon after the wildfires started, it wasn’t before residents had already tried to escape their wrath, as the Washington Post had stated.
Joshua Iserhoff (45), who managed to escape the fire, vividly described the terrifying experience: “The wind was so ferocious it almost lifted our vehicle off the ground.” As they faced flames and smoke, he and his family feared for their lives, unsure if they would make it out unharmed.
The most frightening thing out of it all is that many have already had to “flee repeatedly…, with a little more than a month left in Canada’s fire season,” according to the Washington Post. A lung cancer patient also reportedly inhaled too much of the smoke and was rushed to a nearby hospital because of it.