Canadian officials believe that the wildfires in Canada last week, which sent a huge cloud of smoke to the U.S. as well as causing record pollution levels on the East Coast could continue throughout the summer.

Francois Bonnardel said that this was a first for Quebec in its history to have to fight so many blazes and evacuate so many people. “We’re going to fight a battle that will probably last the entire summer,” said Francois Bonnardel, Quebec’s minister of public security.

Nearly 17,800 square kilometers of land have burned across Canada this year. This has forced thousands to relocate and evacuate. Currently, there are 447 fires burning in Canada. Of these, 220 are considered “out of control.”

According to Canada’s Natural Resources Branch, more fires will be expected due to drought conditions and “long range forecasts of warm temperatures.”

According to the White House, President Biden discussed the issue with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday and they agreed to “deploy federal firefighting resources that can quickly assist in suppressing the fires.”

More than 600 U.S. firefighters are expected to be sent north to Canada to help suppress the wildfires.