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☆ I Lived Through Canada’s Summer Wildfire Smoke - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Serge Schmemann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Nothing like it had ever happened before — these wildfires began far earlier and spread far faster than usual, and they have burned far more boreal forest than any fire in Canada’s modern history. As of this writing, 5,881 wildfires have consumed 15.3 million hectares, about 59,000 square miles, dwarfing the 10-year average of 2.6 million hectares per summer. With the melting Arctic to their north and the immensity of their northern wilderness, Canadians are not strangers to climate anxiety. “Temperatures are rising at the rate we thought they would, but the effects are more severe, more frequent, more critical. China had its heaviest rains in 140 years; record wildfires devastated Greek islands, and the list goes on.

Persons: it’s, ”, Michael Flannigan Organizations: New, Globe, Mail, Thompson Rivers University, World Meteorological Organization Locations: infernos, New York, Canada, Kamloops , British Columbia, Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, New England, Manatee Bay, South Florida, China

☆ Quebec, Canada wildfires made twice as likely through climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The severity of Quebec’s fire season up to the end of July was also made 50% more intense by climate change, according to the report. French firefighters try to extinguish wildfires at Lac Larouche in Quebec, Canada, on June 28, 2023. It is by far the worst wildfire season Canada has ever experienced, and there are still more than two months left to go. They then used climate models to understand the role climate change played. Climate change also made the peak fire weather in Quebec during the same period at least twice as likely and 20% more intense, according to the report.

Persons: Friederike Otto, It’s, ”, Clair Barnes, Emma UIISC7, David Dee Delgado, “, James MacDonald, Kira Hoffman, ” Hoffman, Michael Flannigan, Otto Organizations: CNN, WWA, Grantham Institute, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Canada, Bloomberg, University of British, Research, “, Predictive Services, Emergency Management, Thompson Rivers University Locations: Canada, Quebec, Illinois, Canadian, Western Europe, Bronx, New York City, Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, British Columbia, Cameron, Port Alberni , British Columbia, University of British Columbia

☆ How Canada’s Record Wildfires Got So Bad, So Fast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Nadja Popovich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

How Canada’s Record Wildfires Got So Bad, So FastWildfires in Canada have burned a staggering 25 million acres so far this year, an area roughly the size of Kentucky. With more than a month of peak fire season left to go, 2023 has already eclipsed Canada’s previous annual record from 1989, when over 18 million acres were scorched. Hot, dry conditions have fueled widespread wildfires, mostly in Canada’s boreal forests, since the spring, with some of the largest blazes burning in Northwest Canada and Quebec. A heat wave baked British Columbia and Alberta in mid-May, exacerbating several early wildfires. More than 100 times over the past three months, Canadian wildfires have grown sufficiently large and powerful to produce their own weather, kicking up giant thunderclouds known as pyrocumulonibus, and injecting smoke high into the atmosphere.

Persons: ”, Jennifer Kamau, Kamau, “, González, Mike Flannigan, Yan Boulanger, Flanningan Organizations: Canadian Interagency Forest Fire, Madison Dong, Thompson Rivers University, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Times Locations: Canada, Kentucky, Northwest Canada, Quebec, North America, International, United States, Madison, Columbia, Alberta, Northern Canada, Thompson, Kamloops , British Columbia, California

☆ Record heat meets record wildfires in Canada, and scientists say this is the new reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

"This is the new reality, not the new normal, because we're on a downward spiral," Flannigan told CNBC. "The current wildfire season in Canada has been astounding and record breaking," Dahl told CNBC. "I'm not sure where we're going to end up with this because it keeps keeps on burning," Flannigan told CNBC. "The warmer it gets, the atmosphere gets more efficient at sucking the moisture out of the fuels," Flannigan told CNBC. For example, the mountain pine beetle is killing trees and turning them into fuel for wildfires, Burch told CNBC.

Persons: Kristina Dahl, Michael Flannigan, it's, Flannigan, Dahl, We're, I'm, Hope, we've, I've, Sarah Burch, Burch, David Dee Delgado, It's, You've, we're Organizations: BC, Service, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Union of Concerned, CNBC, Thompson Rivers University British Columbia, Natural Resources, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire, Fort, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Canadian Forest Service, University of Waterloo, Waterloo Climate Institute Locations: Lake, British Columbia, Canada, Natural Resources Canada, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maine, Northwest Territories, North America, Alberta, Waterloo, New York City, United States

☆ As Canada's wildfires intensify, recruiting firefighters is tougher
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

That's roughly 2,500 firefighters short of what is needed, said Mike Flannigan, a professor at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia and wildfire specialist. "It's hard work, it's hot work, it's smoky work, and there are real issues with health impacts longer-term," Flannigan said. Applications were down in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, and Alberta had to do several rounds of recruitment to fill its ranks, officials said. As more wildfires threaten communities, provincial agencies are also increasingly leaning on structural firefighters to help protect homes. Since 2009, Canada has been spending more on fighting and suppressing wildfires than on maintaining its firefighting personnel and program.

Persons: Mike Flannigan, Flannigan, Scott Tingley, Rob Schweitzer, Ken McMullen, David Ljunggren, Ismail Shakil, Denny Thomas, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Reuters, Thompson Rivers University, Nova, Wildfire, BC Wildfire Service, Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, Emergency Preparedness, Thomson Locations: BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada, Yukon, British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Canada's, Manitoba, Lithuania, Quebec, Ottawa

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