Canada On Fire: Fighting the Largest Canadian Wildfire in Recorded History | Foreign Correspondent

Canada is in the grip of one of the worst forest fires in recorded history. In recent days, tens of thousands of people in British Columbia were evacuated, as the Canadian government deployed its armed forces to deal with the crisis. Most residents of Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories have also fled their homes. An area of almost 14 million hectares has been scorched by more than 6,000 separate wildfires burning all over the country since late April. Almost 5,000 thousand international firefighters have already been flown in – including several hundred Australians. This week Foreign Correspondent travels to British Columbia and Alberta where a desperate battle is underway to save lives and homes. Reporter David Lipson goes inside the fireground to see firsthand how a nation better known for snow and ice is coping with the fire catastrophe. He meets the Canadian smoke jumpers who parachute into difficult terrain to fight fire fronts in remote locations. He also spends time in the makeshift camps that have become home to fire crews from around the world including the Australians – many of whom are veterans of Australia’s Black Summer. The comradery within the camps helps with the challenges of the difficult work they face and when the Australians leave to face their own summer fire season, they know the Canadians will be ready and willing to return the favour. Subscribe: Foreign Correspondent is the prime-time international public affairs program on Australia’s national broadcaster, ABC-TV. We produce half-hour duration in-depth reports for broadcast across the ABC’s television channels and digital platforms. Since 1992, our teams have journeyed to more than 170 countries to report on war, natural calamity and social and political upheaval – through the eyes of the people at the heart of it all. ABC News In-depth takes you deeper on the big stories, with long-form journalism from Four Corners, Foreign Correspondent, Australian Story, Planet America and more, and explainers from ABC News Video Lab. Watch more ABC News content ad-free on ABC iview: For more from ABC News, click here: Get breaking news and livestreams from our ABC News channel: Like ABC News on Facebook: Follow ABC News on Instagram: Follow ABC News on Twitter: Contributions may be removed if they violate ABC’s Online Terms of Use (Section 3). This is an official Australian Broadcasting Corporation YouTube channel