'There's been an insane increase in the work,' says an experienced wildland firefighter

In B.C. , there are currently 349 wildfires burning, of which six are considered 'wildfires of note' In Alberta , there are 122 wildfires including the 32,000 hectare Jasper Wildfire complex, which resulted in thousands of people being evacuated from the town of Jasper and the surrounding National Park recreation areas last week .

North Star spoke with an experienced wildland forest firefighter who attributes the huge increase of wildfires in recent years to a combination of changing climate and the regime of forest management focused on securing the profits of forest companies.

In response to inadequate wages and working conditions of wildland firefighter's, their union, the B.C. Government Employees Union (BCGEU) initiated a campaign in 2023 , calling for an overhaul of the compensation system and for firefighters to receive similar pensions to other public safety responders.

In three of the last four years, the Canadian military has been called in for wildfires in Alberta and Alberta .

Rob imagines that a comprehensive disaster response organization is badly needed.