Space Industry and Business News
FIRE STORM
Canada sends in army to battle Alberta wildfires
Canada sends in army to battle Alberta wildfires
by AFP Staff Writers
Drayton Valley, Canada (AFP) May 11, 2023

Canada sent in the army on Thursday to help Alberta province fight wildfires that have scorched forests and grasslands -- fueled by unusually hot, dry weather.

"The Canadian Forces are going to provide firefighting support and airlift resources, assist with the evacuation of isolated communities, and help keep people safe," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Twitter message.

Several Canadian provinces -- as well as the US states of Oregon and Alaska -- had already sent almost 300 reinforcements to fight the wildfires.

Alberta on Monday formally requested federal disaster assistance, two days after declaring a state of emergency.

The head of the province Danielle Smith said the military Thursday afternoon started to fan out across the region to help "fight these unprecedented fires."

Specifically, she said, they were positioning in hotspots including Fox Creek and Drayton Valley to bolster "mop-up operations and basic firefighting duties, airlift and engineering support."

King Charles, meanwhile, said in a letter that he and his wife Camilla were "deeply concerned" about the wildfire situation and offered "special thoughts and prayers" to those displaced and who have lost their homes or businesses.

"We hold many fond memories of our visits to Western Canada and know that those affected will rise to the challenge with customary Canadian strength, resilience and determination."

Rains and a lull in high temperatures over the last few days brought relief for exhausted firefighters, and allowed some 5,000 evacuees to return home. Almost 30,000 residents had been ordered to flee fire-hit areas last week.

Fewer than 80 fires were still active on Thursday -- down from a peak of 110 last weekend -- including 23 out of control, according to officials.

The fires have burned more than 410,000 hectares (1,580 square miles) of forest and grasslands, authorities said.

Several oil and gas companies in Alberta -- one of the world's largest oil producing regions -- also restarted operations that had been briefly halted due to wildfire risks to their facilities.

But Environment Canada is warning that temperatures will rise sharply over the weekend, forecast to reach 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

"As anticipated, we are already seeing temperatures climbing in the province, particularly in the north," Alberta wildfire official Christie Tucker told a briefing.

"And while we have seen rain and cooler temperatures which have allowed us to make progress on many wildfires, we've also experienced thunderstorms with lightning, which can ignite new ones," she said.

About 200 troops were deployed Thursday and 100 more were scheduled to join them, Tucker said. Four military helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft were also helping to assess flare-ups from the air as well as transport people and equipment.

In recent years, western Canada has been hit repeatedly by extreme weather, the intensity and frequency of which have increased due to global warming.

Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
FIRE STORM
Spire and OroraTech to demo wildfire detection from space for Canadian Space Agency
Vienna VA (SPX) May 10, 2023
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded a contract to Spire Global's newly acquired subsidiary, ExactEarth Ltd., for preparatory work on its WildFireSat mission. The mission aims to monitor all active wildfires in Canada from space on a daily basis to support wildfire management, provide Canadians with more precise information on smoke and air quality conditions, and more accurately measure the carbon emitted by wildfires. The initial contract will deliver preparatory work for implementation phases ... read more

FIRE STORM
Upcoming ISS project will test 3D materials for satellite manufacturing

Terran Orbital PTD-3 enables 200Gbits space-to-ground optical link

Integral imaging-based tabletop light field 3D display with large viewing angle

NASA and partners achieve fastest space-to-ground laser comms link

FIRE STORM
CesiumAstro to supply 7 comms payloads to Raytheon for SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer.

Raytheon Technologies to advance US Air Force Common Tactical Edge Network

Raytheon Technologies develops 'NexGen Optix' Tactical Free-Space Optical Comms

Eglin squadron launches support for Link 16 from space

FIRE STORM
FIRE STORM
Japan okays GPS tracking for bail after Ghosn case

China to launch up to 3 BeiDou backup satellites in 2023

Telit Cinterion adds Dual-Band GNSS Positioning to AIROHA AG3335 Chipsets

Monogoto teams with Skylo and SODAQ to deliver NB-IoT satellite asset tracking

FIRE STORM
NASA Super Pressure Balloon mission terminated due to anomaly

Solar-powered balloons detect mysterious sounds in the stratosphere

Supernal and Inmarsat partner on Advanced Air Mobility vehicle connectivity

Hybrid airship enters the transfer portal

FIRE STORM
Entangled quantum circuits

Chinese chipmaker plans Shanghai listing after swerving US export curbs

A touch-responsive fabric armband for flexible keyboards, wearable sketchpads

Europe must boost chip production amid Asia risks: EU chief

FIRE STORM
Chinese aerial remote sensing system obtains mountain, glacier detection data

EarthCARE, when a satellite sheds light on the clouds

LiveEO and Capella Space offer fast, high-res SAR imaging to asset managers

Satellite Data, Applications Flowing Through SERVIR to Southeast Asia

FIRE STORM
Australia settles lawsuit over military base contaminations

Coming years 'critical' to slash plastic pollution: UN

Coming years 'critical' to slash plastic pollution: UN

Macron urges 'pause' in EU environment regulations

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.