Canadian "Zombie Fires" Continue To Burn; Are A Threat When Spring Arrives

An underground "zombie fire" burns amid winter conditions
in northwestern Canada. These are fires from last summer
that are still burning underground. They pose a renewed
threat wen things dry out in the spring 

 Remember all those awful Canadian wildfires last spring and summer? The ones that sent choking smoke and haze southward into the United States, including Vermont?

Guess what? Some of them are still burning. 

Dozens of fires in British Columbia and Alberta have gone underground for the winter. 

They're feeding on peat and other material dried out in recent droughts. This despite frigid winter temperatures and some snow cover. 

They're been called "zombie fires" and represent new threats in the spring, when the snow melts and the ground dries out. 

According to CBC:

"There are still 92 active fires in British Columbia and another 54 in Alberta - holdovers from last year - according to the latest figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Others are also active in the Northwest Territories, experts said."

Nearby residents have reported wisps of smoke coming from the ground and the forest even during Arctic weather - which by the way has been less common than normal in much of Canada. 

What happens with the fires come spring of course depends greatly on the weather. A cool, wet spring and summer would be ideal, of course. But recent history in Canada under the scourge of climate change suggests those seasons are becoming more likely warm and dry. 

Ominously, drought conditions continue in the areas of British Columbia and Alberta were most of the zombie fires are still smoldering. 

All this could re-invigorate those zombie fires. CBC again: 

"Research suggests such fires are becoming more common as the climate warms. The hot, dry conditions that contribute to powerful wildfires during the summer can lead to deep burning in carbon rich soils like peat. 

In such cases, a fire can simmer underground for days, weeks or even months after the flames subside."

Researchers who study overwinter or "zombie fires" say the large number of them this winter is something that is unprecedented in Canada. But then again, so were the big wildfires last year. 

The bottom line is that nobody really knows how many of these fires will re-ignite in the spring. We'll just need to wait and see.