Solidarity between two neighboring countries in the face of a historic disaster. United States President Joe Biden offered his help to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a call about the “devastating and historic” wildfires hitting Canada, the White House reported Wednesday, June 7.
“The President has directed his team to deploy all federal firefighting assets that can quickly help extinguish the fires affecting Canadian and American communities,” the statement said, as smoke from the fires covered a large area. part of the northeastern United States where 100 million Americans breathe poor air quality.
“Hundreds of American firefighters have just arrived in Canada and more are on their way,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in the evening after meeting with US President Joe Biden. Quebec, hard hit by historic fires, is impatiently awaiting international reinforcements. The question of equipment and personnel will be crucial in the days to come, recognize the Canadian authorities.
“These fires are more frequent because of climate change,” Justin Trudeau said on Twitter.
The event is “another worrying sign of how the climate crisis is affecting our lives,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed on Wednesday. More than 20,000 Canadians are currently being evacuated across the country, more than half of them to Quebec where the government is preparing to evacuate 4,000 more.
After the Canadian provinces of Alberta (West) and Nova Scotia (East), it is Quebec’s turn to be hit by the fires. Nearly 140 fires are currently active, including nearly a hundred deemed out of control, according to the Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire (Sopfeu). And no significant rain is expected until Monday evening.
“With the staff we currently have, we can cover about 40 fires at the same time,” said the premier of the province, François Legault. “We need to focus on where it’s most urgent,” he continued.
Quebec has deployed hundreds of people on the ground. With international help, including the hundred firefighters from France who are due to arrive by Friday, the province hopes to increase its workforce to 1,200 people.
