Canadian Wildfires: State of Emergency Declared, Smoke Plume Reaches Northeast U.S.

Canadian wildfires raged over the weekend, forcing at least 30 thousand residents to evacuate and smoke to spread for thousands of miles in U.S. territory.

On Saturday, the Canadian province of Alberta declared a state of emergency as more than 110 wildfires burned across it. Nearly 1 million acres have burned, and dozens of structures have been burned since the wildfires started more than a week ago. There are currently 57 active fires burning in British Columbia and 88 wildfires burning in Alberta.

Wildfires are also affecting Canadian oil production, shutting in at least 319 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. That’s about 4% of the country’s total production. The threat to Canada’s natural resource production has forced officials to declare a state of emergency until the situation improves.

Based on recent burn area estimates, the Alberta wildfires will go down as one of the top 10 largest wildfires in recorded Canadian history.

Fortunately, conditions have improved since the weekend, including cooler temperatures, increased humidity, and scattered showers. Firefighters have been able to reach additional wildfires that had been inaccessible due to extreme wildfire behavior. In the northern portion of the state, wildfire suppression will continue to be a challenge, according to authorities, due to lower humidity levels.

In the U.S., smoke from the large burns reached portions of the Northeast on Monday. Residents of Boston, Albany, N.Y., and other communities across New England reported unusually vibrant sunrises, which is common during episodes of heavy pollution such as smog or smoke from wildfires. The smoke plume will not cause significant air quality concerns over the next few days for the region.

Howerver, parts of the Southwest U.S. are under a greater risk of fire as dry and windy conditions build in through mid-week.