International coordination and precipitation to restore hope to Canada. The arrival of rain in Eastern Canada, affected for nearly a week by historic fires, came to relieve firefighters in Nova Scotia Saturday, while the situation in Quebec remains critical.
700 foreign firefighters - from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the United States - are expected in the coming days according to the Canadian press. This Sunday evening, Emmanuel Macron announced, on Twitter, that the France would participate in this effort. "Canada is facing terrible fires. The France is supportive. A hundred of our firefighters are preparing to fight the flames alongside their Quebec comrades. Experts are also mobilized. Canadian friends, reinforcements are coming," he promises.
Canada is facing terrible fires.
The France is solidary. A hundred of our firefighters are preparing to fight the flames alongside their Quebec comrades. Experts are also mobilized.
Canadian friends, reinforcements arrive.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 4, 2023
85% of the wildfire that threatened Nova Scotia's capital, Halifax, has been brought under control, from "out of control" to "stable," authorities said at a press briefing Saturday morning. "It's great," said Dave Meldrum, deputy chief of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Services. "It's not a big downpour that comes and goes. Water will be able to seep into the soil more efficiently," he said, as the province expects more rainfall in the coming days.
"That said, the fire is not extinguished and will not be declared extinguished for some time," said Dave Steeves of the provincial Department of Natural Resources. On Friday night, half of the 16,000 evacuees from the northeastern suburbs of Halifax were allowed to return home.
80 fires still considered out of control
"This week has been surreal, one of the weirdest of my life," Shawn Lavigne, who had to quickly evacuate his home Sunday, told CBC. "Honestly, I've never been happier to see dirty dishes than I was last night. It's great to be home," he added, smiling.
"I can tell you that the rain is boosting the morale of the troops," Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said after meeting with several families of evacuees at reception centres in the southwest of the province, where the last out-of-control fire is raging on a total of five assets. "This is the largest fire in Nova Scotia's history, and it remains frightening," added the premier.
Read also"A scary time": why are Canada's giant fires out of control?
Canadian armed forces and U.S. firefighters are expected in the area on Saturday and Sunday, as well as firefighters originally scheduled for Halifax. In Quebec, the fire that had forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate the region around Sept-Îles, in the north of the province near the St. Lawrence River, did not evolve in the night from Friday to Saturday but still remains "out of control," said the authorities.
"The winds will be variable today, so it could change at any time," warned Isabelle Gariépy of the Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire (SOPFEU). More than 130 forest fires, including about 80 deemed out of control, remain active in Quebec and forced more than 2,000 additional people to evacuate a city but also an Indigenous community in the province on Friday evening.
