The Prince of Wales has spoken with fire service representatives from across Canada following the worst wildfire season in the country’s history.
Prince William spoke with six people from Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories after a historic wildfire season that saw 18.5 million hectares of land burned from over 6,500 fires.
William began the call by asking the fire services personnel about their experiences, noting that the breadth of wildfires were a topic of discussion in the United Kingdom.
Kim Connors, the Executive Director of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, told the prince that all records were broken from coast to coast to coast (Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic) this past year. He added that the other representatives on the call were in the thick of the wildfires “all summer long.”
Jabee Wu, the Fire Crew Leader at Wood Buffalo National Park, said that she’d never seen anything like this in her seven years as a firefighter.
“It was just really big fires, unmanageable fires, it was hard this year because it hit so close to home,” Wu said, revealing that the town she lives in was evacuated and “that duty to serve and staying in the town was hard.”
William told the fire services personnel that their work is crucial and he imagines that the townspeople were all thankful for the work they did to protect their homes and livelihoods.
Kiah Vail, the Crew Leader for the Northwest Territories said that there were 11 fires there, and one town was nearly wiped off the map; while Ali Gillis from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables said that an unusually dry April and May led to destructive fires across the province.
The Prince of Wales told those on the call, “Thank you so much, all you and all your teams for doing a tremendous job this season.
“Because frankly it must have been terrifying at times, you must have felt completely out of control, completely swamped, relying on each other, relying on the kit, the training you’ve done.”
He added that he hopes future wildfire seasons aren’t as damaging as this one, and encouraged everyone to look after each other and take care of their mental health. “Please stay safe look after each other and ultimately, thank you so much for the courage and the determination you’ve all shown to get yourself through the season.”
The full video of William’s conversation with Canadian fire services personnel can be viewed here.
