Canada: Nature’s Handiwork

Tinder-dry jack pines, white and black spruce, poplar and birch trees exploded in the heat as more than 3 million acres of Canadian timberland went up in smoke during the past two weeks. Some 4,400 fire fighters battled 560 lightning-ignited fires that swept across northern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario. “The whole north is virtually blowing up on us,” sighed Albert Driedger, Manitoba’s minister for emergency services. With high winds pushing dense smoke toward Indian reservations, provincial premier Gary Filmon declared a state of emergency.

Though no deaths or serious injuries were reported, nearly 25,000 people were evacuated from their homes and crowded into schools and hotels. As scattered rain dampened some of the fires in midweek, more than 4,000 evacuees were allowed to return home. But most of the blazes were still burning, and fire fighters said it would take days of rain to extinguish them. No such downpour was forecast.