The 2023 Canadian wildfire season is off to a roaring start. In Alberta, there have been more than 560 wildfires so far — the highest recorded number of fires since 2018, and the season has only just begun. Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated and a state of emergency was declared across the province.
Wildfires are not new to the region. The 2016 Horse River/Fort McMurray Wildfire was the worst wildfire and most costly disaster in recent Canadian history. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country, Nova Scotia has already experienced a historic 200 wildfires, resulting in a local state of emergency in Halifax Regional Municipality and more than 25,000 displaced residents.
