Québec’s wildfires have scorched an area nearly the size of Adirondack Park, and the historic blazes likely won’t abate this summer, a veteran New York forest ranger said.
Rob Praczkajlo, 50, normally based in Ray Brook in the Adirondacks, spent nearly two weeks in Québec’s wilderness fighting Canada’s million-acre fires alongside fellow New York State Department of Environmental Conservation rangers and other American personnel. They helped Canadian firefighters as part of the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact, a consortium of American and Canadian agencies that provide mutual aid to each other.
On June 10, the crew — New York’s second sent to Canada’s fires — went by truck to Maniwaki, Québec, about two hours north of Ottawa.
After briefings with local fire officials, they went north into the bush and forest 57 kilometers “down a very dusty dirt road,” where they arrived at Le Pensive, an outfitters camp, Praczkajlo said. Each morning around 6 a.m., they would drive or fly to fight fires that made up hundreds currently blazing across Québec. Days would last upwards of 13 hours.
They arrived home last Sunday.
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A 20-year veteran who’s helped fight fires in California and Montana, Praczkajlo said the Canadian fires that have spewed toxic smoke across the East Coast are likely to continue burning because of hot and dry conditions creating more fuel for the fires. Experts have noted climate change is exacerbating these conditions.
In a phone interview, Praczkajlo spoke to USA TODAY Network New York from a vacation in Surf City, North Carolina, where he said he’s been getting the ash and dirt off him while surfing. Next week, he’ll return to his forest ranger post in the Adirondack Park’s High Peaks region.
The interview has been shortened for clarity.
What motivated you to fight fires in Canada?
“Protecting lives and resources. It’s incredible to be able to…
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