Canadian Wildfires Flared Again Past Couple Days; Now Hope That Storm Will Quiet Things

After plenty of fire weather this month, a storm
heading into Alberta and Manitoba is temporarily
suppressing fire weather. Thursday, the yellow, orange
and especially red areas had high fire danger. The
high danger areas are smaller than they were 
earlier in the week, but will likely grow again
as dry weather eventually returns. 

 When I wrote about the return of Canadian wildfires the other day, I noted the city of Fort McMurray, devastated by a 2016 wildfire, got a scare that a new fire was coming before shifting winds saved the day.  

Within a couple days after that, the wind shifted back toward Fort McMurray, setting off a new round of evacuations from a city on edge. 

CNN tells us:

"Roads out of Fort McMurray were crammed with evacuating cars Tuesday as an out-of-control 51,000 acre wildfire crept toward the city's edge.

 The approaching flames conjured up terrifying memories for residents who lived through the 2016 fires, which forced 90,000 people to evacuate and wrought billions of dollars in damage to homes and businesses."

So far, it looks like it won't be as bad as 2016. Then again, the fire season is young. 

"I want to recognize the anxiety that this brings, certainly to those residents that were here in 2016, and to those where this is their first experience and have heard the stories,” said Regional Fire Chief Jody Butz. “We are confident that we have the resources to defend these areas, but we need people out of harm’s way.”

CNN reported other big fires in Manitoba that forced at least 500 evacuations. 

 A large, slow moving storm system will temporarily tamp down the fires for the next few days, but that's just a Band-Aid. Chances are it will turn warm and dry again, and those fires will ramp up.

Whether Canada repeats the extreme fire season remains to be seen, despite 2024's fast start to the fire season. In many years, large storms cross through central Canada in June. If that happens, and that's a big if, the storms would dump plenty of rain on a large drought-stricken area.  Those rains, if they materialize will temper the rest of the 2024 fire season, at least somewhat. 

Still, climate change has left Canada more prone to heat waves, dry spells and drought than it once was. So the trend is toward more spring and summer fires up there, even if individual years prove quieter. 

That means more smoke potential for us. This year and every year going forward.

 I noticed a touch of smoke in the atmosphere in northern Vermont Tuesday evening and part of Wednesday, though it seems to have cleared up for now.  

The die is cast, though.  Canadian wildfires will continue to send haze our way off and on all summer. We can only hope the smoke isn't as bad as last year.