In Canada, wildfires wreak havoc on both the east and west coasts.
In Canada’s eastern province, weather forecasts for the weekend are being monitored more closely than usual. It is hoped that the expected rains will bring relief to the more than a hundred forest fires raging in the region.
Forest fires are common in the Quebec region during the summer season, but this spring fires have been detected exceptionally early. They also spread with extraordinary power.
– So far, it is unclear whether the rain at the end of the week will be enough to start the fires, thought the leading meteorologist of the federal government Gerald Cheng at the press conference.
There are more than 13,000 evacuees.
Evacuations also on the Pacific coast
Hundreds of fires are also underway on the west coast of British Columbia.
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has described this year’s fires as the worst in the country’s history.
The effects of wildfires in Canada also extend across the border into the United States. Air quality warnings have been issued in the eastern part of the country. For example, New York was enveloped in a cloud of smoke earlier in the week and residents were advised to stay indoors.