Front Burner

Wildfires rage across Canada

Tens of thousands of Canadians have been forced from their homes as wildfires burn across huge swathes of the country, threatening dozens of small, remote Indigenous communities.
A large plume of smoke surrounded by green trees.
The Caribou Lake wildfire is seen in this aerial photo. As of Wednesday, the fire covers nearly 63,000 hectares. (Alberta Wildfire)

As many as 40,000 Canadians are out of their homes right now with evacuation alerts and states of emergency in effect across much of western Canada, from B.C. through northern Ontario. Many, especially those from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have been away from home for weeks, with no indication of when they'll return.

CBC Thunder Bay's Sarah Law brings us the story of evacuees from Sandy Lake First Nation, making their way to Thunder Bay, Ont., as fire bears down on their fly-in, fly-out community.

Then, Chief David Monias of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba tells us about the struggle his community has had getting the resources to effectively fight the fires and support its community members through the ongoing evacuation.

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