Record blazes have left crews struggling to contain aggressive burns, with a shortage of personnel making things worse
Earlier this summer, a wildfire crept – and then sprinted – towards Fox Creek, a community of less than 2,000 in north-west Alberta. At one point, the crackling wall of flames and thick black smoke moved more than 30 miles in a single day, prompting frantic evacuations from the town.
“It was terrifying,” said Angela Martineau, a paramedic who lives in the community. “I was told it was going to be on my doorstep at this time, then at this time… [There were] a lot of anxieties and emotions for those first six days”.
