[1/3] Smoke billows upwards from a planned ignition by firefighters tackling the Donnie Creek Complex wildfire south of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada June 3, 2023.
OTTAWA, June 5 (Reuters) - Canada is on track for its worst-ever year of wildfire destruction as warm and dry conditions are forecast to persist through to the end of the summer after an unprecedented start to the fire season, officials said on Monday.
"The rate of increase of area burned is also high ... if this rate continues, we could hit record levels for area burned this year," he said.
"Over the last 20 years, we have never seen such a large area burned so early in the season," said Yan Boulanger, a researcher with Natural Resources Canada.
"Partially because of climate change, we're seeing trends toward increasing burned area throughout Canada."
Persons:
Michael Norton, Norton, Yan Boulanger, Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Ismail Shakil, Alistair Bell
Organizations:
Wildfire Service, REUTERS, Natural Resources, Flames, Wallbridge Mining Company, Thomson
Locations:
Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, OTTAWA, Quebec, Atlantic, of Nova Scotia, Natural Resources Canada, Alberta, United States, Ottawa