'Hellfire' wildfires exhaust Canadian firefighters

All summer, Boucher, a 26-year-old firefighter, worked 12 hours a day battling massive wildfires.

"Without seeing immediate results, I just keep working," said Isabella Boucher, one of thousands of Canadian firefighters mobilized to control wildfires in Quebec province.

This year, the Canadian Interagency Fire Service recorded its worst wildfire season on record, with nearly 6,500 fires in the year. More than 18 million hectares of the country were burned, an area the size of Tunisia and more than double the previous record of 7.6 million hectares set in 1989.

Boucher said this year's fire season has weighed heavily on her and everyone else. "The future is scary," she said, looking forward to a break.

Firefighters battle a fire in Vanderhoof, northern British Columbia, Canada, in July. Photo: CBC. — Firefighters battle a fire in Vanderhoof, northern British Columbia, Canada, in July. Photo: *CBC*

Record wildfires have displaced tens of thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands of wildlife have died. In the devastated northern forests, no trace of animals remains.

"Normally we would find tracks everywhere, but right now it's like a desert," said hunter Paul Wabanonik in a forest in Quebec.

In Yellowknife, Alfred James, a 21-year-old firefighter, also admitted to being exhausted after a summer of nonstop work. Residents of this northernmost town were evacuated in August due to wildfires.

"The lack of rain in the summer made the situation extremely difficult, the whole vegetation turned into a giant mass of fire," he described. "It was heartbreaking to see houses burned down and to be helpless because the fire was so big."

James, the forestry student, is also worried about the future. "As summers get hotter and there's less rain, wildfires will get closer and closer to communities and cities. That's a big threat."

Chart showing more than 1,000 active fires across Canada as of August 23. Graphic: CIFFC — Chart showing more than 1,000 active fires across Canada as of August 23. Graphic: *CIFFC*

After 10 years of serving the fire department in western British Columbia, Kara Galbraith, 29, said the increasing intensity and density of wildfires is becoming the "new normal."

Wildfire season typically starts in Canada in May, but according to Galbraith, it's trending toward starting earlier and earlier, right after the snow melts and lasting into October.

Galbraith leads a team of 18 firefighters who work all summer, and the work is “like a team sport , with a lot of physical strength and coordination.” “It’s a long, grueling fire season, and the numbers are too small for the scale of the fires,” she said.

Also in British Columbia, volunteer firefighter Darren Reynolds said that in August, the fire station he worked at was hit by a wildfire. "It was like hell opened up, the fire just came across the highway, and we couldn't stop it," he said.

"We couldn't breathe, trees were burning right next to us, the fire station was on fire, cars were torn apart and exploded. The whole highway was hell, couldn't see a few inches in front of us."

Reynold and many other firefighters also lost their homes to the wildfires, but he insists they are still working hard to protect their communities.

Luc Boutin, 60, one of Canada’s oldest volunteer firefighters, has never seen a wildfire season this bad. Despite 30 years of experience fighting house fires in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, a small town surrounded by forests in Quebec, he is a “newbie” when it comes to fighting wildfires.

"It was a wall of fire, we were terrified," he recalled. "There were mornings when I woke up and couldn't see more than a few metres away because the smoke was so thick. I hope I never have to go through that again."