become the epicenter of Forest fires that are devastating much of Canada, the Province of Quebec anxiously awaits the arrival of international reinforcements to fight the fire, while the smoke from the 150 fires still in progress reaches the United States.

The event is “another worrying sign of how the climate crisis is affecting our lives,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday. After Alberta and Nova Scotia, Quebec is facing “unheard of” fires. There are currently 150 assets and about 100 of them are out of control. AND no significant rain is forecast before Monday evening.

“With the troops we have, we can cover about 40 fires at the same time, but there are 150 active,” said Quebec Premier François Legault. “We have to take care of what is urgent,” he added.

Quebec mobilized hundreds of people to fight the fire and hopes to reach 1,200 with international aid, in particular with the arrival of French firefighters. “We see that we are in a worse year than the one we have already known and our resources are at the limit,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, stressing the need to better prepare for “this new reality”.

Orange skies in New York

The new reality hits the Northeastern United States. In New York, the Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of Manhattan are draped in an orange and brown haze, while the masks, remnants of the pandemic, reappear in the streets. Visibility is so complex that the US Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) has slowed air travel and even grounded some planes in the area.

The US government has called on its frail citizens to “take precautions” about air quality. More than 100 million residents were affected by air quality alerts on Wednesday due to the fires in Canada, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told AFP. These alerts cover most of the northeastern United States, from Chicago in the north to Atlanta in the south.

DAVID DEE DELGADO/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

More than 20,000 Canadians evacuated

More than 20,000 Canadians have been evacuated, more than half of them to Quebec, where the government is preparing to move 4,000 others. “The more time passes, the greater the challenge,” Legault said.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been 438 fires in this province Francophones, compared to an average of 200 at the same time over the past ten years. The number of hectares burned at this time of year is also exceptional, according to the authorities. All of Canada is living through an unprecedented year: there have been 2,203 forest fires and nearly 3.8 million hectares burned; an amount well above the average of recent decades.

Canada, which due to its geographical location is warming faster than the rest of the planet, has faced extreme weather events in recent years, the intensity and frequency of which have increased due to climate change.

© Agence France-Presse