I am no longer asking for help with Canada's wildfires. I am begging. | Opinion

A member of the Frontenac OPP detachment who was assisting with evacuations took photos of the wildfire. OPP

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When I fled from the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, one of the few things I took was my lucky pen. I was holding it when I found out I had 15 minutes to abandon my home. I also had a feeling I might need it.

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I never thought that, almost a decade later, I’d still be writing about what it’s like to lose your home to an apocalyptic firestorm.

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But climate change means wildfires have gotten worse. Communities are still being evacuated. Homes are still being destroyed. And now lives are being lost.

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The evacuation alerts start earlier every year. In Fort McMurray, residents pack go bags, check insurance policies, and pray for rain.

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Canada’s wildfire system wasn’t built for today’s megafires. Its approach is seasonal: hire firefighters in the spring and release them in fall. That means high workforce turnover, more training requirements, and fewer experienced leaders. It also lacks year-round emergency coordinators who could improve national readiness and response mobilization.

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That’s what I was planning to tell decision-makers on Parliament Hill last month, as part of a delegation of wildfire firefighters and survivors. We were there to ask government officials to invest resources to boost national readiness.

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But as I was staying near Sharbot Lake, Ont., an insanely strong wind blew in. Thank goodness there’s no fire, I thought.

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Then I heard a siren.

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I looked out to see smoke billowing from an island 500 metres away, tinder-dry fall leaves igniting on drought-weakened grass. I put on my running shoes, turned my car around so it faced out for a quick getaway, and tossed my go bag in the trunk.

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I could see the volunteer fire department launching boats. On the island, propane tanks were exploding, and residents were hauling buckets of water from the shore.

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The firefighters kept coming, as eight structures burned in less time than it takes to watch a movie.

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At the exact same time, volunteer firefighters in a nearby township north of Highway 7, about 100 kilometres from Ottawa, were evacuating residents and battling a wildfire started by a downed power line.

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I had travelled more than 4,000 kilometres from Alberta’s boreal forest to find myself between two wildfires within an hour’s drive of Ottawa.