Fast-moving wildfires in Ontario, Canada, destroyed an entire indigenous community this week whose leaders said politicians delayed evacuation orders, failed to help find lodging for the displaced, and ignored calls for help as the flames engulfed them.
Ontario formally requested federal assistance this week as dozens of wildfires threatened northern communities, some of which had already begun evacuating themselves or fleeing by boat. Canada does not have a federal emergency management agency or a federal fire authority, however, rendering its national government largely unable to address the country’s annual massive wildfires.
In a letter to federal Emergency Management and Community Resilience Minister Eleanor Olszewski, Dunlop said 15 communities were evacuating or considering evacuations. She warned that simultaneous air evacuations could exceed Ontario’s available aircraft and requested a federal response within 24 hours instead of the usual 48.
Federal officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail reported.
The request came after a fast-moving blaze devastated Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins First Nation, north of Thunder Bay. Chief Helen Paavola said residents escaped in small boats while watching flames swallow trees beside their homes. Some fled wearing only the clothes on their backs.
Hellbound and Down 