As flames raged through western Canada on Tuesday, a fire near Halifax, Nova Scotia, caused the evacuation of more than 16,000 people, adding to the country's already mounting concern over out-of-control wildfires upsetting people's lives.
Late Sunday, while a fire burned northwest of the city, images from downtown Halifax showed a thick cloud of smoke surrounding the city and the sun becoming apocalyptic red. About 15 miles from Halifax, in an area with many suburban families and professionals, a fire broke out.
British Columbia and all of western Canada have seen wildfires, but Alberta, which is known as "the Texas of the North" due to its oil and gas production, has been severely damaged.
The province announced a state of emergency earlier this month.
According to climate science, the heat and dryness brought on by global warming are the main causes of larger and more intense fires.
There have been 195 wildfires in Nova Scotia so far this year compared to 153 in all of 2022. But according to authorities, this year's fires have grown more severe.
There is now a sense of impending doom as a result of the wildfires on both Canadian coastlines. Halifax, a typically tranquil seaside city on Canada's Atlantic coast that was established in 1749 and functioned as a British naval and military outpost, is now shrouded in fear and uneasiness.
The province administration said on Monday that an estimated 200 buildings and structures had been destroyed by the fire. The municipal government has declared a state of emergency. On Tuesday, the authorities declared that there had been no reports of deaths, injuries, or missing persons up to that point.
In the region devastated by the fire, Heidi MacInnes, the owner of Restless Pines Farm and a resident of Hammonds Plains, said it had been terrifying to leave her home with her boyfriend, her 22-year-old daughter, and 57 horses.
"There were burning embers falling in my driveway," she remarked. It's only action; there isn't time to chat to anyone about anything. She expressed concern over losing her house.
