Latest news with #fireSeason
CTV News
6 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Southern Sask. sets smoke hours record as wildfires continue to burn
WATCH: Southern Saskatchewan is well on its way to breaking the smoke hour record for this fire season. Jacob Carr reports. Those across southern Saskatchewan have had to contend with increasingly smoky days as wildfires continue to burn in the province's north. Those who believe this fire season may be the worst in recent memory for smoke – may be right. The northern wildfires aren't the only culprit though, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). 'What we've been looking at is a lot of smoke from fires not only in north central Saskatchewan, which has been bringing a lot of the smoke that we have been seeing recently,' ECCC scientist Christy Climenhaga told CTV News. 'There's also been quite a bit of smoke this summer so far from Alberta and into Manitoba.' As a result, smoke has been an issue Canada-wide, and that's especially true in Regina. Just last month, 109 smoke hours were recorded in Regina, making it the smokiest month on record since the start of smoke hours data collection in 1953. A smoke hour is recorded when smoke has obscured visibility to less than six miles. 'This summer has definitely been different with the smoke,' Regina resident Jeanine Hackl explained. 'I'm trying not to pay attention to it too much, but I can definitely feel the heaviness on my lungs once I'm doing physical activity and things like that.' Murray Kyle, another Regina resident, isn't letting the smoke stop him from going out for walks with his dog, but he admits that he has never seen anything like this year's wildfires – or the resulting smoke. 'Oh, they are terrible, I don't remember them ever being in the news when I was growing up or anything like experiencing this,' he said. Furthermore, ECCC says that April through October has the potential to be the smokiest on record for the entire season in Southern Sask. 'We have 215 hours of smoke as of yesterday. That's second place to 2013 which had 263 hours, but that was all the way until October,' Climenhaga added. 'So, we'll be having to see where this season stacks up when all is said and done.'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Raging wildfires force several Avalon communities to evacuate, others on alert
Wildfires burning out of control on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula have forced hundreds of people from several communities to flee their homes and others to be ready to leave if the call comes. On Monday, residents in the Conception Bay North communities of Small Point–Adam's Cove–Blackhead–Broad Cove and Kingston were told to evacuate due to a burning wildfire near Kingston. Then, around 11:30 p.m., the town of Western Bay was told to evacuate, with the people in nearby Ochre Pit Cove being told to get ready to flee if necessary. A new fire near Holyrood prompted partial evacuation of residents, and the Town of Conception Bay South also evacuated the area of the Conception Bay Highway west of Seal Cove Road. "We've had an interesting fire season, to say the least," provincial fire duty officer Jeff Motty told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show on Tuesday. He said the fire burning near Kingston — last reported to be 150 hectares in size — is now 258 hectares and is still out of control. Crews were fighting the fire until late on Monday and he said they had hoped to see a break in fire behaviour in the evening due to increased humidity, but instead there was increased fire behaviour around 7:30. "We've seen drought-like conditions since the start of the season and we started our season early," said Motty, pointing to the fire in May that forced an evacuation of Adam's Cove residents and destroyed 12 homes and 45 other structures. Motty said the plan for Tuesday morning is to assess the fire and determine the best way to fight it, adding they will have crews, water bombers and helicopters on the scene. But he couldn't say if the fire had damaged anything in the communities. Motty also said the fire's cause is currently under investigation, adding there's been lightning in the area but that fire can be human caused — possibly alluding to suspicions CBC News has reported from Conception Bay North residents who believe it could be arson. "I'm not making a judgment call, one way or another," said Motty. Motty said the two fires, one near Kingston and the other near Holyrood, are close enough they can share resources as needed. He said as of Monday the Holyrood fire is 20 hectares in size and it is still burning out of control. "That one there did jump up and it did burn quickly. At the point of mapping it was two kilometres long," he said. Like with the Kingston fire, Motty said crews will be back on site early Tuesday to make a plan of attack. Motty added it's too early to say when the evacuation order could be lifted in either fire area. 'More erratic' The current dry conditions are also making the current fire fighting season challenging, said Motty. "The lack of precipitation is definitely not helping. It's not only making it easier for fires to start, it's making fire behaviour more erratic." Motty said people need to be vigilant and understand their responsibility to prevent wildfires from starting in the first place. The provincial fire hazard map has the Avalon Peninsula between a very high and an extreme risk of fire, which puts a fire ban in effect in those regions. Motty urged people to follow the fire bans, adding responding to "nuisance fires" takes resources away from fighting wildfires. Meteorologist Justin Boudreau said there is some good news coming for firefighting conditions, as Tuesday's temperatures are expected to reach a high of 22 degrees, with a northeast wind shift in the afternoon which he said should bring temperatures down. "Which should push the fire kind of back over itself," said Boudreau. But he said the downside is that it's expected to blow the smoke back toward the land, adding there is an Environment Canada special air quality statement for St. John's and portions of the northern Avalon Peninsula. Boudreau advised people impacted to reduce the time they spend outdoors. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
7 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Raging wildfires force several Avalon communities to evacuate, others on alert
Wildfires burning out of control on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula have forced hundreds of people from several communities to flee their homes and others to be ready to leave if the call comes. On Monday, residents in the Conception Bay North communities of Small Point–Adam's Cove–Blackhead–Broad Cove and Kingston were told to evacuate due to a burning wildfire near Kingston. Then, around 11:30 p.m., the town of Western Bay was told to evacuate, with the people in nearby Ochre Pit Cove being told to get ready to flee if necessary. A new fire near Holyrood prompted partial evacuation of residents, and the Town of Conception Bay South also evacuated the area of the Conception Bay Highway west of Seal Cove Road. "We've had an interesting fire season, to say the least," provincial fire duty officer Jeff Motty told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show on Tuesday. He said the fire burning near Kingston — last reported to be 150 hectares in size — is now 258 hectares and is still out of control. Crews were fighting the fire until late on Monday and he said they had hoped to see a break in fire behaviour in the evening due to increased humidity, but instead there was increased fire behaviour around 7:30. "We've seen drought-like conditions since the start of the season and we started our season early," said Motty, pointing to the fire in May that forced an evacuation of Adam's Cove residents and destroyed 12 homes and 45 other structures. Motty said the plan for Tuesday morning is to assess the fire and determine the best way to fight it, adding they will have crews, water bombers and helicopters on the scene. But he couldn't say if the fire had damaged anything in the communities. Motty also said the fire's cause is currently under investigation, adding there's been lightning in the area but that fire can be human caused — possibly alluding to suspicions CBC News has reported from Conception Bay North residents who believe it could be arson. "I'm not making a judgment call, one way or another," said Motty. Motty said the two fires, one near Kingston and the other near Holyrood, are close enough they can share resources as needed. He said as of Monday the Holyrood fire is 20 hectares in size and it is still burning out of control. "That one there did jump up and it did burn quickly. At the point of mapping it was two kilometres long," he said. Like with the Kingston fire, Motty said crews will be back on site early Tuesday to make a plan of attack. Motty added it's too early to say when the evacuation order could be lifted in either fire area. 'More erratic' The current dry conditions are also making the current fire fighting season challenging, said Motty. "The lack of precipitation is definitely not helping. It's not only making it easier for fires to start, it's making fire behaviour more erratic." Motty said people need to be vigilant and understand their responsibility to prevent wildfires from starting in the first place. The provincial fire hazard map has the Avalon Peninsula between a very high and an extreme risk of fire, which puts a fire ban in effect in those regions. Motty urged people to follow the fire bans, adding responding to "nuisance fires" takes resources away from fighting wildfires. Meteorologist Justin Boudreau said there is some good news coming for firefighting conditions, as Tuesday's temperatures are expected to reach a high of 22 degrees, with a northeast wind shift in the afternoon which he said should bring temperatures down. "Which should push the fire kind of back over itself," said Boudreau. But he said the downside is that it's expected to blow the smoke back toward the land, adding there is an Environment Canada special air quality statement for St. John's and portions of the northern Avalon Peninsula. Boudreau advised people impacted to reduce the time they spend outdoors.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Utah's air tanker bases have already used 1.2 million gallons of retardant fighting wildfires
SALT LAKE CITY () — Bureau of Land Management Utah announced that Utah's air tanker bases have already pumped 1.2 million gallons of fire retardant while fighting wildfires. 'It's been a BUSY stretch for wildfires in Utah, especially in the southern part of the state,' BLM Utah wrote in a . Reportedly, over the course of a normal fire season, the air tanker bases located in Salt Lake City and Cedar City pump 800,000 gallons of retardant across the Great Basin. So far this season, they have already pumped almost 1.2 million gallons, and we're a little over halfway through fire season. The Cedar City air tanker base has been especially important because a lot of the wildfire activity has been in southern Utah this season. According to BLM Utah, the Ceder City tanker base achieved two records this week: delivering 130,000 of fire retardant in a single day, and the fastest they've ever used a million gallons in a season. 'Behind every one of those drops is a team working around the clock to mix, load, and send aircraft back into the fight,' BLM Utah wrote. 'Huge shoutout to our staff and interagency partners at the base!' Latest headlines: Republicans eye efforts to quiet Epstein uproar but can't quash it Utah spends the 3rd lowest amount of income on childcare in nation: Wallethub Utah's air tanker bases have already used 1.2 million gallons of retardant fighting wildfires One dead after Orem house fire Friday morning Officials warn of potential flash floods in burn scars and Zion National Park Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
05-06-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
Data capturing hot spots and burned acres show Canada wildfire season off to wild start
While images of wildfires capture their ferocity, data can provide insight into how bad a fire season is. Such is the case with two graphics, powered by satellite data, that showcase a Canadian wildfire season off to a wild — and scary — start. Twice a day a NASA satellite sends images to the ground, giving a real-time view of where fires are burning. This is especially useful for remote areas where no sensors are stationed.
