Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season has taken a deadly turn after two firefighters were killed days apart, prompting a broader reckoning over the mounting economic and human toll of the unprecedented blazes that have charred swaths of the country’s boreal forests.
As of Monday, more than 10m hectares have burned across the country – an area the size of Iceland. Previously, the largest fire season on record was 34 years ago, when 7.6m hectares were left charred. But officials caution this year’s record-breaking season is only halfway done, with the sweltering temperatures expected to persist for the remainder of the summer.
