Canadian army called in as Saskatchewan fires

Baku. 7 July. REPORT.AZ/ The Canadian military has been called in to help fight wildfires in the Western province of Saskatchewan, where 112 active fires have forced the evacuation of more than 13,000 people and threatened several remote towns on Monday.

Report informs citing foreign media, the provincial government said more than 1,000 soldiers are on their way or already in the Prairie province, with some 600 to be trained as firefighters and on the front lines as early as Wednesday. The Canadian Armed Forces said up to 1,400 personnel could be sent.

Hot dry weather has fueled an extreme fire season in Saskatchewan, with nine new fires started in the past 24 hours, provincial fire center manager Scott Wasylenchuk said.

He said arson is also suspected as a cause of some of the fires.

As of Monday, there have been 574 fires in Saskatchewan this year, compared with 205 by this time last year. Wasylenchuk said 112 are still actively burning.

"It's a significant fire season for us, it has started early and has not let up ... and we expect continuation of that," he said.