Canada will continue to rely on foreign crews to help fight wildfires in the coming years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, as more reinforcements from abroad were expected to join the fight against the country害羞草研究所檚 worst wildfire season in decades.
Trudeau told reporters in Saguenay, Que., that Canada will count on other countries to send help, just as other countries depend on Canadian firefighters.
害羞草研究所淚n terms of international firefighters, it害羞草研究所檚 something that we count on during our fire seasons, but the same way our international friends and partners count on Canadian firefighters during their fire seasons,害羞草研究所� he told reporters after meeting with armed forces members at Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, in Quebec害羞草研究所檚 Saguenay region.
害羞草研究所淔rom Northern Hemisphere to Southern Hemisphere, from one region of the world to another, the fire seasons aren害羞草研究所檛 always aligned and that allows for a travelling of resources that is part of how we害羞草研究所檙e going to make sure we害羞草研究所檙e protecting communities all around the world.害羞草研究所�
Trudeau said extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent in the coming years due to climate change. When asked if Canada needs to augment its fleet water bombers that are used to fight fires, he said it害羞草研究所檚 clear the country will need to increase resources at many levels.
害羞草研究所淭here will be more climate emergencies, there will be more major challenges and so we will have to prepare,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淎nd yes, we are talking about planes, but we are also talking about more training for the population, for firefighters, for the military.害羞草研究所�
Meanwhile, more firefighters from abroad were expected to arrive on Wednesday to help battle Canada害羞草研究所檚 worst wildfire season of the 21st century.
Quebec officials said about 100 Portuguese and 140 Spanish firefighters were set to land in Quebec City to join the contingents of French and American reinforcements that were already helping battle 130 forest fires raging across the province as of Wednesday morning.
About 5,000 firefighting personnel from multiple countries have been deployed across Canada to help battle the flames, and more were expected to arrive from Chile and Costa Rica in the coming days.
There were 459 fires across Canada on Wednesday morning, with 234 listed as out of control.
There was hope in Quebec that rainy weather this week would help douse the blazes, but officials said Wednesday morning not enough rain had fallen so far to extinguish the danger. The province害羞草研究所檚 forest fire prevention agency 害羞草研究所� SOPFEU 害羞草研究所� said a wildfire continued to threaten the community of Lebel-sur-Qu茅villon, Que., located 620 kilometres northwest of Montreal, where roughly 2,000 people remained displaced.
Civil security official Jean Savard said 2,800 Quebecers remained under evacuation across the province, down from more than 13,500 late last week.
Rain was also in the forecast for a large portion of Western Canada, along with thunderstorms and a risk of lightning. About 14,000 people remained out of their homes in Alberta as of late Tuesday.
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