Canada is bracing for wildfire activity to continue above average into August as rising temperatures and drought convert much of the country’s vast forests into fuelwood.
Canada’s fire season, which normally lasts from April to September, is barely half over, but the country has already surpassed the modern historical record for area burned: an estimated 8.8 million hectares have been burned so far, an area larger than South Carolina is. This is well above the 10-year average of around 805,000 hectares. The previous record of 7.6 million hectares was set in 1989.
“By July, expected warm and dry conditions will increase wildfire risk across the country from British Columbia and the Yukon to western Labrador,” said Michael Norton, director general of the Northern Forestry Center at the Canadian Forest Service, in a briefing. The endangered area is likely to shrink only slightly in August. “It is expected that above average fire activity will continue to occur in many parts of Canada,” Norton said.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, there are currently 639 active fires in Canada, more than half of which are out of control. Weather conditions across North America have carried the smoke to some of the largest U.S. cities, including New York, sparking weeks of air quality alerts, endangering residents’ health and causing flight cancellations and delays at some of the continent’s busiest airports.
Marie-Ève Héroux, air quality assessment manager at Health Canada, said in the briefing that senior citizens, pregnant people, young children and those who spend a lot of time outdoors or have health conditions are particularly at risk of exposure to wildfire smoke be. “However, the health of every individual is potentially endangered, especially when the pollutant concentrations are high and the exposure lasts over a longer period of time.”
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