More international teams arrive to fight Canada wildfires
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00:00 Facing its worst ever start to the wildfire season, Canada is calling on its allies for
00:05 help.
00:06 On Wednesday, Portugal became the latest country to send a contingent of firefighters in support.
00:14 Portugal has once again expressed its solidarity by sending 140 firefighters.
00:19 They will be on the ground for 15 days to support Canadian forces.
00:25 For months, Canada has been battling a series of increasingly threatening wildfires sweeping
00:30 through its forests.
00:32 More than 13 million acres have already gone up in smoke, an area larger than the Netherlands.
00:38 On Wednesday, the country's Forest Fire Agency reported some 460 fires were still active,
00:45 including 234 that remained out of control.
00:49 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was meeting members of the armed forces on Wednesday,
00:54 warned the situation could deteriorate even further.
00:57 "Obviously we're seeing increased extreme weather events, increased forest fires across
01:03 the country and we will over the coming years because of the impacts of climate change.
01:07 So we're having lots of discussions about how we need to make sure that we're ready
01:12 for it."
01:13 Most of the current fires were caused by natural phenomena such as flash storms, yet scientists
01:19 have repeatedly warned they're being exacerbated by climate change.
01:24 And while summer wildfires are common in Canada, the scope and timing of the current disaster,
01:29 which began in March, means the country now finds itself in uncharted territory.
01:35 It's saying very much.