Will Canadian Wildfires Bring Smoke to the U.S. Again This Summer?
Last summer was a fiery one for Canada, as the Canadian wildfires were bigger and more difficult to contain than ever before. The U.S. felt the impact, too. Throughout the summer months and into the fall, there were days that the air quality was so bad, people in the U.S. couldn’t go outside without feeling the impacts of the smoke. It was especially difficult for people with allergies, asthma and sensitivities to smoke. So, will the Canadian wildfires bring smoke to the U.S. again this summer? Here’s what the experts are saying.
Canadian Wildfires: Will Smoke Reach the U.S. Again This Summer?
A recent forecast from the Canadian government states that this season could bring even more Canadian wildfires than last season, according to the experts at the New York Times. They also state that last year’s wildfires torched an incredible 48 million acres of forest across Canada, which was a 170% over the previous year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. So, why would this season be just as bad, if not worse, as last season? There’s a drought in Western Canada that’s going into its third year, and that’s why the Canadian government is warning of possible wildfires in 2024, especially in British Columbia and Alberta.
But, it’s not all doom and gloom. Other Canadian fire experts are saying it’s not as likely that we’ll see the extent of wildfires that we did in 2023. In fact, some think it will be better. Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told USAToday.com that, “It is extremely unlikely that the 2024 fire season will be as extreme as 2023, as 2023 was a record-smashing year.” That said, he also said that the aforementioned drought across Canada combined with the weather forecasts call for a warm summer could “suggest the potential for an active fire season.” USAToday.com also quotes another Canadian fire expert, Rebecca Saari, an associate professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. She told the outlet that she’s observing “similar patterns to last year.”
In a separate interview with the New York Times, Flannigan discussed how we don’t have a “historical analog” for what’s going on with the Canadian wildfires right now, because it’s usually not a big issue. “But now a lot of these fires have the potential that when the snow melts and it gets warm, dry and windy to actually grow again,” Flannigan said. “So it is a serious issue.” I certainly had some breathing issues with the smoke last year, so let’s hope Mother Nature is good to us in 2024.
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