International help rolls in to fight persistent Canadian wildfires

Emergency responders gather in a staging area near a forest fire that has been burning since Sunday on the shore of Centennial Lake in the Township of Greater Madawaska, Ontario, Canada, June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Blair Gable

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Allies around the world have promised to increase their help to Canada in its fight against hundreds of blazes that have swept through the country in its worst-ever start to wildfire season.

Forest fires that have gathered strength over the last month have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and sent a smoky haze billowing over a large swath of the United States.