Wildfires

Wildfires - Alberta, Canada

Nearly 30,000 people have been asked to evacuate their homes under siege of dozens of wildfires across the western Canadian province; officials declared a state of emergency on Saturday with more than 110 active wildfires. More than 50 schools were closed on Monday morning, affecting over 50 000 pupils. About 964,000 acres have burnt since wildfires began over a week ago. In northern Alberta, more than 80 homes were destroyed in rural areas including Fox Lake, John D’Or Prairie, and Garden River, and more than 3,700 residents in that area were evacuated.

Wildfires - Russia

The death toll rose to 21 on Tuesday (9 May) in a series of fires raging in Russia’s Urals region some resulting from suspected arson, and medical officials warned the tally was likely to increase, state news agency TASS said.

The emergencies ministry in Kurgan region near the border with Kazakhstan said 46 suspects had been identified and seven criminal cases had been initiated against alleged arsonists. Some of the suspects were minors, it said. The motives of the suspected arsonists were not clear.

Wildfires have long plagued Russia’s forests and steppes during hotter months, but have grown in intensity in recent years. The 2021 fire season was Russia's largest ever, with 18.8 million hectares of forest destroyed, according to Greenpeace Russia. Last year, wildfire smoke blew hundreds of miles to Moscow, choking city residents.

Fires began in late April in the Kurgan and neighboring Tyumen regions. Evacuations of residents are underway and hundreds of homes have been razed, officials said.