Canada's western provinces are being hit hard by wildfires. Alberta has been hit especially hard. Heavy smoke from the fires has spread far beyond the region.
Alberta has been fighting wildfires for several weeks. Nearby British Columbia and Saskatchewan have also been seriously hit by wildfires. So far, the wildfires in Alberta have burned 8,420 square kilometers of land. Currently, 77 wildfires are still burning in Alberta, and 23 of the fires are considered out of control. That's better than last week. In British Columbia, 89 fires are burning, and 22 are out of control. In British Columbia, about 1,350 square kilometers of land have been burned. Around 2,500 fire fighters have been working to bring the fires under control.
In Alberta, the wildfires have made over 29,000 people homeless. People have also been forced to evacuate in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The fires have created so much smoke that it can be seen from space. The air quality across northwest Canada has been described as Very High Risk. The smoke is even affecting the air quality in several states in the United States. The wildfires have also caused problems for a number of oil and gas companies in Canada. Alberta is famous for producing oil and gas. Many oil companies have been forced to shut down.
Wildfires aren't unusual in western Canada. But generally, the wildfire season begins later in the year. The early fires this year have been made much worse by extremely hot and dry weather. For most of May, a high-pressure weather system has been bringing record temperatures to the area. Many locations in Alberta have never seen higher temperatures than they have this year. The high temperature in Alberta on Sunday was 32.8℃.
