In photos: Firefighters question Alberta cuts to aerial attack teams as province battles blazes
Former members of an elite Alberta wildfire-fighting crew say government budget cuts have left the province battling its current blazes short-handed.
Damage is seen on the property of Adam Norris in Drayton Valley, Alberta.WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/AFP/Getty Images
Smoke rises from a wildfire in Strathcona County, Alberta.TWITTER @HELLOHILDY/Reuters
A helicopter flies over a still-smouldering fire outside of Drayton Valley, Alberta.WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/AFP/Getty Images
Smoke billows from a still-smouldering fire outside of Drayton Valley, Alberta.WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/AFP/Getty Images
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith meets with members of the military in Edmonton who are on stand-by to help with the wildfires before she gave an update on the situation in Alberta.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Damaged property is seen in Drayton Valley, Alberta.WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/AFP/Getty Images
Property owner Adam Norris surveys the damage at his home outside the town of Drayton, Alberta.WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/AFP/Getty Images
Damaged vehicles sit near the property of Adam Norris, in Drayton Valley, Alberta.WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/AFP/Getty Images
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith gives an update on the wildfire situation in Alberta.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Adam Norris surveys the damage at his home outside the town of Drayton, Alberta.WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/AFP/Getty Images
During the first weekend of May 2023, severe wildfires broke out in Alberta. The smoke cloud (1,500 km long) generated by the fires has reached the Arctic Circle, as shown in this Copernicus Sentinel-3 image of May 6,2023.European Union / Copernicus Sentinel