TORONTO: A 24-year-old firefighter was killed by a falling tree while battling a forest blaze northeast of Jasper in the Western Canadian province of Alberta on Saturday, the police said in a statement.

The deceased was a resident of Calgary and based out of the Rocky Mountain House Fire Base, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

The RCMP said it was notified of a serious injury sustained on Saturday by an Alberta Wildland fire employee who was extracted from the scene. Nearly a third of Jasper’s structures were destroyed when a massive wildfire, with flames burning 330 feet (100 metres) high, hit the popular Alberta tourist town in late July. There are currently 120 active wildfires in the province.

“Heartbroken by the news that a firefighter has lost his life while battling the wildfires in Jasper,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a social media post on X, adding “his loss is deeply felt.”

Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen also expressed his condolences.

California wildfire

More than 6,000 firefighters in California’s Central Valley continued to battle the largest blaze in the US on Saturday, which burned its way into the history books as the state’s fourth-largest conflagration on record.

There was barely a taste of rain on Saturday from thunderstorms that brought wind and rainfall of zero to one-tenth of an inch, forecasters said. The heat of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) along with winds up to 25 mph or more in some spots, offered little relief to the firefighters trying to contain the Park Fire, scorching the wilderness terrain some 100 miles (161 km) north of Sacramento, the state capital.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

A dying light
Updated 23 Jan, 2025

A dying light

Objections to the 26th Amendment must be settled quickly for the Supreme Court's sake.
Controversial canals
23 Jan, 2025

Controversial canals

THE Punjab government’s contentious plans to build new canals to facilitate corporate farming in the province ...
Killjoys
23 Jan, 2025

Killjoys

THE skies over Lahore have fallen silent. Punjab’s latest legislation banning kite flying represents a troubling...
Errant ECP
Updated 22 Jan, 2025

Errant ECP

THE ECP has once again earned a detailed reprimand from the Supreme Court. That it still refuses to correct course is ominous
Fast-tracking M6
Updated 22 Jan, 2025

Fast-tracking M6

GRAND infrastructure projects in Pakistan often progress at the pace of a bullock cart rather than a bullet train....
Gwadar airport
Updated 22 Jan, 2025

Gwadar airport

THE air connectivity established by the inauguration of PIA flights between Karachi and Gwadar is a major step...