As wildfires spread across northern Ontario, Hubert Wigwas chose to remain in his First Nation community to protect his home and help vulnerable residents.
Wigwas installed sprinklers on his roof to put out falling embers, checked on elders who had stayed behind and filled four boats with fuel on the lake in case a rapid evacuation became necessary.
“This is everything I’ve built in my 58 years,” Wigwas, a councillor with Gull Bay First Nation, told the BBC. “I’m just not going to run away and let it burn.”
Canada has experienced several severe wildfire seasons in recent years, including its most destructive on record in 2023. That year, wildfires burned an area roughly the size of Syria. By August this year, more than 750 wildfires were actively burning across the country.
Smoke from Canada’s wildfires has travelled into the US Midwest, severely affecting air quality in several cities. Former US President Donald Trump also criticised the smoke, threatening additional tariffs on Canada over what he called “filthy, polluted” air drifting south across the border.
The growing wildfire threat has raised urgent questions about Canada’s emergency response capacity. Are there enough firefighters to manage increasingly dangerous fire seasons? What happens when firefighting resources are overwhelmed? And how can remote First Nations communities, many of which are surrounded by Canada’s vast boreal forest, adapt to the new wildfire reality?
Wigwas faced those questions when he decided to stay in Gull Bay, despite the possibility of an approximately C$800 ($570; £425) fine for disobeying evacuation orders.
Leaders of Gull Bay First Nation, also known as Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek, have urged residents to leave since mid-July, as more than 150 wildfires burned across northwestern Ontario.
In a letter dated 29 July, the community’s chief pleaded with residents who remained to evacuate immediately. The chief warned that Ontario firefighters could not work safely while people were still in their homes.
Officials in other parts of Canada have issued similar warnings, including in British Columbia, where approximately 115 wildfires were burning at the time.
However, with a wildfire burning about 24km from Gull Bay, Wigwas said in late July that he had not seen outside fire crews arrive to help protect homes or monitor the elders who remained in the community.
The situation convinced him that Gull Bay First Nation needs its own wildfire emergency response team, along with training to help residents defend their homes and prepare for future evacuations.
“Everybody talks about climate change, but nobody is doing something to unite the (First Nations) reserves and have a system like that set up,” Wigwas said.
Dave Bradley, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources, did not respond directly to Wigwas’s claim. However, he said the province remained in “constant contact” with First Nations leaders.
Bradley added that firefighting resources are allocated according to “fire behaviour, weather conditions and risks to communities.”
Source: www.bbc.co.uk