The federal government is forecasting a 害羞草研究所渕arathon害羞草研究所� wildfire season to continue across much of Canada this month, with the potential for the fire season to extend into September for southern B.C., the Prairies, Northwest Territories and Western Ontario.

Officials say Canada is experiencing an 害羞草研究所渦nprecedented害羞草研究所� fire season, charring 134,000 square kilometres to date, more than six times the 10-year average.

害羞草研究所淭his summer has turned into a challenging marathon,害羞草研究所� Michael Norton, a director general of Natural Resources Canada, said Friday at a national wildfire briefing. 害羞草研究所淯nfortunately, bottom line: fire season is not over.害羞草研究所�

Data released at the briefing shows that as of Aug. 10 there have been 5,595 wildfires across Canada, releasing the equivalent of more than one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Hundreds of homes were destroyed by wildfires in Nova Scotia earlier this year, and about 4,000 firefighters in B.C. are currently battling hundreds of blazes, some of which have threatened communities, forced evacuations and destroyed properties.

Canada has already deployed 5,821 domestic firefighters and 4,990 international firefighters from 12 countries to battle wildfires across the country, said Norton.

Officials can害羞草研究所檛 predict how next year害羞草研究所檚 fire season will evolve, but the trend has been towards longer seasons and larger more aggressive fires, he said.

害羞草研究所淭he science is clear that longer, tougher fire seasons are going to be part of our future,害羞草研究所� Norton said. 害羞草研究所淔or sure all fire agencies recognize that there is an important message here about needing to adapt.害羞草研究所�

Natural Resource Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced in North Vancouver Friday the government will spend $400,000 as part of the first phase of a fire training pilot project.

It will train 25 instructors on how to deliver consistent and effective wildfire response training through a program at Kamloops, B.C., he said.

The International Association of Firefighters will also deliver 15 courses across five locations in Western Canada as part of the pilot project, training up to 325 structural firefighting personnel on urban interface wildfire training, said Wilkinson.

Four firefighters have died this summer battling wildfires in B.C., Alberta, and the Northwest Territories.

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