Smoke choking Canadians but cooling wildfires by blocking out sun

Smoke choking Canadians but cooling wildfires by blocking out sun
by AFP Staff Writers
Ottawa (AFP) May 22, 2023

Wildfire smoke blanketing western Canada has triggered health warnings in several cities, but was also helping to cool blazes by blocking out a hot sun across hard-hit portions of the country Sunday.

The wildfires in Alberta province have displaced tens of thousands of people and scorched more than 941,000 hectares over several weeks.

"It is a mixed bag certainly with smoke," Christie Tucker of the Alberta Wildfire agency told a briefing.

"Many Albertans obviously can't get away from the smoke this weekend. It is thick in many parts of the province," she said. "But they would also have noticed that temperatures are cooler than they would have been if there was no smoke covering the sun."

Less heat, Tucker explained, "has meant that we've seen less growth of fires." Only five new flare-ups were reported since Friday.

On the other hand, she added, firefighters haven't been able to fly aircraft as often to get an accurate picture of the size and number of fires burning over the last few days.

Weather maps have shown smoke from the fires covering more than one million square miles (2.7 million square kilometers) and stretching as far as the eastern coast of North America and the Arctic.

Environment Canada issued warnings about poor air quality posing "very high risks" to health in the cities of Edmonton and Calgary, where the sky had an orange hue and the smell of smoke lingered in the air.

Residents were urged to limit outdoor activities.

Air quality alerts were also issued in several US states as plumes of thick smoke from Alberta drifted across the border.

In recent years, western Canada has been hit repeatedly by extreme weather, the intensity and frequency of which have increased due to global warming.

Above-average daytime weekend highs of 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) were forecast to drop by about 10 degrees by Monday and stay low throughout the week.

More rain is also anticipated after several showers swept through Alberta this weekend.

But, Tucker said, "While we're optimistic that the forecast rain will be enough to make a difference to some wildfires in the province, we are not out of the woods yet."

12 parks closed in western Canada due to risk of fires
Montreal (AFP) May 19, 2023 - Authorities in the western Canadian province of Alberta battling devastating wildfires have closed twelve local parks ahead of the long holiday weekend, fearing fresh flames, officials said Friday.

Alberta has declared a state of emergency and asked for foreign aid with more than 800,000 hectares of land destroyed in fires and thousands of people evacuated since the beginning of the month.

On Friday, there were 94 active forest fires in the province, 26 of which were out of control, according to officials.

The situation was also dire in neighboring British Columbia with 22 out-of-control fires and dozens of evacuation orders issued.

All of Alberta's 12 parks will be closed, state officials announced.

"As the province heads into a hot and dry May long weekend, the current wildfire situation in Alberta remains volatile," said Colin Blair with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

"It is critical that all Albertans remain vigilant and closely follow updates on the wildfire situation across the province."

Christie Tucker of the Alberta Wildfire Fire Department said nearly half fires are started by people.

"We will manage the wildfire situation in the face of extreme conditions and we ask Albertans for their help, too," she said. "Don't be responsible for starting a new wildfire."

Temperatures are expected to hit 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) this weekend, again above seasonal norms. And rescuers say the long weekend in May is often when the human-caused forest fires occur.

Over 2,500 emergency workers have already been deployed to fight the fires and some 110 additional American firefighters are due to arrive over the next few days.

After more than two weeks of intense fires, poor air quality warnings were in effect in the west and center of the country and in several adjacent US states.

In recent years, western Canada has been hit repeatedly by extreme weather events, the intensity and frequency of which have increased due to global warming.