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Wildfires in Canada prompt evacuations and air quality advisories

An unusual combination of warm temperatures, overly dry forest lands, lightning and strong gusty winds have fueled the hundreds of fires burning across western Canada. On June 29, there were 168 uncontrolled fires and 273 controlled fires burning in the provinces.

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Government of Canada


As of July 2, the Northwest Territory was reporting 173 separate fires, with 129 still being considered active. The wildfires covered over 200,000 hectares (594,000 acres).

Alberta is reporting 115 wildfires overall, with only 51 under control. There have also been 30 prescribed burns in the province, totalling almost 1,983 hectares.

The British Columbia Wildfire Service is reporting that as of July 2, there are 37 new lightning-caused and five new human-caused wildfires. The total number of wildfires to date in the province is now 737, with a total of about 83,000 hectares (205,010 acres) burned.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires create a red fireball over southern Wisconsin  U.S. as the sun sets on...

Smoke from Canadian wildfires create a red fireball over southern Wisconsin, U.S. as the sun sets on July 2, 2015.
@TomPurdyWI (Twitter)


Forced evacuations in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan has had a particularly hard and active wildfire season this year, and it’s still early. As of July 2, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) is reporting Saskatchewan as having 534 wildfires involving 634,502 hectares.

More than 5,000 people in 51 communities have been evacuated from their homes since wildfires started last month. “It’s a significant challenge, not only with the number of fires – which is well above the average – but also the location of the fires,” said Duane McKay, Saskatchewan’s emergency management and fire safety commissioner, at a news conference on Thursday.

Global News Canada reported that on Thursday afternoon, Daryl Jessop, director of internal support, Ministry of Environment told reporters the weather has contributed to the fires. “Hot, dry, windy weather has resulted in 100-plus wildfires in northern and central parts of the province,” Jessop said.

The province is getting a lot of help in fighting the fires, with crews from Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, as well as the U.S. state of North Dakota assisting at the blaze in Cypress Hills. The weekend is expected to bring some rain which will help firefighters.

Smoke, smoke and more smoke impacts air quality
With the adverse weather conditions driving the wildfires across western Canada, an unwanted aftereffect has been the smoke, sometimes dense at times. The smokey haze often reduces visibility to less than 2 kilometres. NASA has captured the smoke from the fires using high-resolution satellite imagery.

NASA s TERRA satellite images on July 1  2015 show the thick smoke from Canadian wildfires.

NASA’s TERRA satellite images on July 1, 2015 show the thick smoke from Canadian wildfires.
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center


NASA says a northwestern flow of air in the region is pushing much of the smoke out of Canada and into the northern and central United States. Despite the smoke moving, Environmental Canada has issued an air quality warning for parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The agency says residents should be aware of possible health concerns, including respiratory problems, and irritation of the eyes and throat. People with respiratory problems, the very young and the elderly should be closely monitored.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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