At La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve, 300 kilometers northwest of Montreal, the devastation of the fire can be seen throughout the trees. Above the scorched trunks lying on the ground, flames continue to consume the fir trees still standing. Everywhere, thick orange smoke envelops the top of the silent forests. No birds singing, only the roar of mosquitoes.

"It's like being on another planet, it's so sad," murmured Christine Carrière, owner of an animal refuge in southern Quebec. The mother-of-one set out to patrol the dirt roads of La Vérendrye, located in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the Quebec region most affected by fires this year. While out looking for injured animals, Carrière found a young moose burned alive, still in agony. "I felt so powerless that I was alone wasn't able to save him," she confided, dejected. This woman had been familiar with these once buzzing with life woods, now empty and grey.

Across the rest of the country, similar images demonstrate the scale of what has been one of the most catastrophic fire seasons in a century. This year, nearly 14 million hectares of forest have already been devoured by flames that are ravaging flora and displacing wildlife. From elk to beavers, all have fled or gone underground. Even cockroaches took refuge near watering holes. Although the losses have not yet been quantified, it certainly will be several decades before the burned forests recover.

To an extent, fires can stimulate forest growth and contribute to regeneration. "These are natural disturbances that species have had to adapt to in order to survive," noted André Arsenault. The researcher at the Atlantic Forestry Centre takes as an example the woods of Kamloops, British Columbia, whose trunks still show the scars of the 2003 fires. The heat of the blazes even allows some tree species like jack pine to release their seeds, previously contained in serotinous cones.

For the over seven hundred endangered species in Canada, fire can represent an additional risk factor. "These areas are a refuge for many species, from the woodpecker, which digs its nest in large trunks, to the marten, which hunts better in dense foliage," explained Lisa Venier, a scientist with the Canadian Forest Service.

In the short term, fires force animals to migrate, even if it means leaving their litter behind. "The breeding season of migratory forest birds, such as the warbler that comes to nest here, has been interrupted by early fires, and it is expected that many chicks will be lost," said Emily Giles, a biologist at WWF-Canada. In the long term, the fires put additional pressure on wildlife habitats. "There is a cumulative effect of fires on landscapes already impacted by climate disruption and human activities," summarized Pierre Drapeau, professor of animal ecology and forest management at the University of Quebec in Montreal.

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