World on Fire podcast: behind the scenes in an unprecedented wildfire season

The latest episode of World on fire — CBC’s wildfires and climate change podcast — delves into reporters’ stories of some of the biggest fires in 2023. Fires that have burned more than nine million acres of land across 10 provinces and territories so far.

LISTEN | Reporters across the country are responding to an unprecedented wildfire season

British Columbia

Crews in BC are still battling the Donnie Creek fire, the largest wildfire in county history. Since the start in mid-May, more than 580,000 hectares have been charred.

Tensions have mounted as firefighters mourn the loss of one of their own. Last week, Devyn Gale, 19, died after becoming trapped under a tree while clearing undergrowth at a small fire in a remote area outside of Revelstoke, BC

CBC senior reporter Katie Nichsolson has covered her share of wildfires around the world and learned a few lessons.

“Don’t wear mascara in the smoke,” said Nicholson, who learned the hard way that particulate matter can stick to your eyes.

“There’s a resignation to fatigue,” she said. “These are going to be long hours, but no matter what hours you’re going to have as a journalist, there are people who find it even more tiring.”

Nicholson was on assignment in 2021 when a catastrophic fire burned down the village of Lytton, killing two people. She then spent another summer across the country covering wildfires in 2023.

Alberta

The wildfire season hit hard and several communities in Alberta were evacuated in early May. Halfway through the season, more than 1.5 million hectares have burned down.

Reporters from Edmonton Julia Wong, Travis McEwan and cameraman David Bayer share their travel stories through the province this spring. CBC News producer Cory Siegers shares how experiences on the ground at Fort McMurray have changed its response to these crises.

East Prairie Métis Settlement in northern Alberta was hit particularly hard and dozens of buildings, including homes, were lost. Senior reporter Erin Collins interviewed a man after his whole house burned down. Collins talks about how reporting about wildfires shaped his career as a reporter.

In early July, the province reported more than 800 wildfires in 2023.

‘I had no words’: Alberta wildfire destroys homes in East Prairie Métis Settlement

Alberta’s powerful wildfires have devastated several communities, leaving people like East Prairie Métis Settlement resident Ron Bellerose to pick out ruins. Bellerose tells CBC’s Erin Collins that he has nothing but memories and uncertainty.

Quebec

Fires in Quebec continue to burn, with smoke so intense that water bombers were grounded in the north. Canada’s wildfire season has so far emitted 160 million tons of carbon — the country’s highest emissions since the European Union began monitoring them 20 years ago.

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If the sky is cloudy and stuffy, here’s what you need to know and watch out for.

First Nations communities including Oujé-Bougoumou and the Cree community in Mistissini have been evacuated and CBCs Kwabena Oduro spent the spring meeting those who had fled.

“When I realized how much reinforcement we needed from all over the world, I realized this was going to get serious,” said Oduro.

Nova Scotia

Wildfire season hit for CBCs Alice Thomson – literal. The Halifax reporter was evacuated in late May as four fires swept through Nova Scotia, including the Upper Tantallon fire, which blew through her neighborhood.

“It was very creepy to leave the subdivision. It was an exodus,” Thomson said. “We drove down a road that was later consumed by fire.”

The Upper Tantallon fire destroyed 200 buildings, including 150 homes, and forced the evacuation of more than 16,000 people. The Barrington Lake Fire, which lasted through June, is known as the largest wildfire in county history, burning nearly 60,000 acres.