Two people were killed by a raging wildfire in Western Canada that forced the evacuation of an entire town but trapped the victims before they could be reached by rescue crews, the police said.
The deaths of the man and woman in the province of Manitoba marked a grim start to Canada’s wildfire season. Two years ago, when Canada recorded its worst wildfire season on record in terms of the number of fires and acres burned, eight firefighters were killed but no civilians.
“The news of this loss of life changes what was an emergency into a tragedy,” Wab Kinew, the premier of Manitoba, said at a news conference on Thursday.
The victims were found in the town of Lac du Bonnet, which is northeast of the provincial capital of Winnipeg and was under a mandatory evacuation at the time of the deaths. Their names have not been released, and officials would not say where exactly they were found.
“People here, I think, are somewhat in shock over the ferocity of the fires and how quickly it all occurred,” said Ken Lodge, the mayor of Lac du Bonnet.
In all, roughly 1,000 people were evacuated from Lac du Bonnet and surrounding areas, the authorities said, as the fire grew to about 10,000 acres. The cause was still under investigation.
Parts of Manitoba have experienced an intense heat wave, with temperatures in Winnipeg on Tuesday rising to 37 degrees Celsius — about 99 degrees Fahrenheit — breaking a 125-year record.
Wildfires are burning across several provinces, but are largely under control.
Fires caused by lightning strikes are expected to increase across southern British Columbia and Canada’s prairie region in the late spring, fueled by warm and windy conditions, according to a report by federal authorities.
The busiest stretch of Canada’s fire season tends to be from May to September, though last year was much milder compared with 2023. That year, more than 6,000 wildfires throughout the country inflicted a devastating toll, displacing thousands of people and burning roughly 37 million acres, an area about the size of England.
Fires in Quebec sent massive amounts of smoke into the United States, turning the skies an apocalyptic orange hue and setting off an acrid smell. Poor air quality sent people to the hospital with breathing issues.
Those wildfires turned out to be a top cause of global carbon emissions in 2023, researchers found.
There are about 100 wildfires currently burning across the country, roughly the same number at this point last year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.
Crews are battling five out-of-control fires across Manitoba, though rain has brought relief ahead of a long holiday weekend when many provinces celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday with firework displays.
It’s a day when rain would not ordinarily be welcomed — but this year is different, said Mr. Kinew, Manitoba’s premier.
“We’re asking for rain,” he said.
