By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer The increasing threat of wildfires in southeastern Manitoba is driving Indigenous and rural communities to build stronger firefighting capabilities, using new federal funding to prepare for harsher fire seasons ahead. The Rural Municipality of Piney and Buffalo Point First Nation sit near the US border amid jack pine forests that, combined with climate change and growing human settlement, face increasing wildfire danger. “We love to live within the forest,” said Martin Van Osch, Piney’s chief administrative officer and chair of its protective services committee. But that comes with mounting risks. “What we’re seeing, along with climate change, is a change in our forest age and the amount of burnable fuel that’s out on the landscape.” To address evolving challenges, Piney,…
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