Since mid -May, forest fires were burned throughout Canada 9.6 million acresThis prompted the evacuation of about 40,000 people. According to the services of the indigenous population in Canada, a government ministry, more than half of those who were evacuated are the first nations, and approximately 34 tribes are affected in almost every province. The sudden rush of refugees has challenged the infrastructure to respond to the crisis in the country, as people search for shelter and services in cities away from their homes, with little information that they may return to their societies.
Officials can do so 76 per cent of forest fires It is currently concentrated in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta – Western provinces in Canada – while additional provinces such as British Columbia, Ontario and Cibik are affected. The regional governments, the first nation, tribal organizations, and Canadian Red Cross have coordinated emergency efforts in the affected areas. According to officials, on average, 2.1 million acres of forest fires are lost every year, much less than the 9.6 million lost. The current fires that define the records also send smoke columns to the United States and away from Europe, which creates dangerous conditions in air quality.
“For the first time, it is not a fire in one area. We have fires in every region,” said Manakot Keno, head of the “Manitoba” department, a member of a press conference recently. “This is a sign of a changing climate that we will have to adapt to.”
The complexity of things is Canada The highway system in SubPar in the first nations societies The remote areas, which require the coordination of military flights, tourist buses, rented conditions and phrases to evacuate the inhabitants of the first nations. In northeast Ontario, for example, more than 2000 residents of Sandy Lake First Nation fled the firefighting fires and then transporting private buses, coordinated by public and private organizations. But even those efforts face problems: thick smoke affects the capabilities of pilots to fly.
Creegence, an indigenous private emergency response company, has been a single organization that helps Sandy Lake members to evacuate. Tyson Wesley, CEO of the company, said in early June that about 400 people were transferred from Lake Sandy due to the lack of access to the roads, in the end they reached Kaboskasing, Ontario. With their arrival, Wesley’s work has shifted from evacuation to shelter services, and ensuring that people’s needs, such as reaching diapers for children, food and security for people away from home. Wesley said: “I have passed more than 10 evacuation operations in my life with my community and understood the fear of leaving your community and the type of uncertainty in what might happen,” Wesley said.
But Wesley adds that sympathy is sometimes rare in many Canadian societies when the first nations arrived, and many cities can be undesirable. “There is still a lot of racism in the country. I always say that these people who have families with children and grandparents are trying to leave their community from the forest fire.”
As current fires continued, people who have been evacuated have difficulty finding shelter. In late May, The leaders of the first nation in Manitoba The hotels mentioned were already in their capacity with more people who arrive every day. In the cities in the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, for example, the Canadian Red Cross I mentioned About 3,300 hotel rooms and shelters were secured in standardization mode with an estimated 32,900 registered people for assistance.
“We invite all hotels and stay in Winbyg and through the boycott to open their doors to the families of the first displaced nations,” said the leader of the Great Wilson of the Manitoba Association. “These are our relatives, neighbors, and colleagues from Manitopan. They need a safe shelter immediately.”
Population services are accredited Canada Launching $ 20.9 million To spend the first nations. A ministry spokesman said: “While many first countries give priority to the suppression of wildfire and the safety of society, the above -mentioned number does not reflect the full range of damage,” said a ministry spokesman.
According to Salima Center report in 2023, 60 percent of Canadian societies are now vulnerable to forest fires, a third of which is the indigenous people in reserves. According to a study published in Canadian Journal of Forest Research in 2020Climate change is associated with an increase in the length of the severe fire season, as well as the burning area and emissions that cause it.
“Most of the population currently live in these areas are the first nations,” Wesley said. “We who carry the first wave of climate change.”
