Wildfire season: Parts of Canada at ‘extreme risk’ as hot, dry weather looms

With more than 200 blazes across different provinces, Canada’s wildfire season is off to a blistering start. How is the country responding?

Canada’s wildfire season is off to a blistering start as multiple provinces are battling more than 200 blazes across the country.

The province of Alberta is under a state of emergency with nearly 30,000 people evacuated in the past week.

As of Tuesday morning, there were 89 active fires burning in the province, including 26 listed out of control.

British Columbia was reporting 58 active wildfires but only 6 of those were out of control, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service. 

There has been some wildfire activity in Saskatchewan as well, with 20 active blazes, as of Tuesday.

In Manitoba, municipalities and the wildfire service are beginning to see some fires across the south and central regions, but at this point, they have been human-caused, the government said in an update last week. 

More hot and dry conditions in the coming weeks could add fuel to the fire, with the Prairies at an “extreme risk,” said Ross Hull, Global News meteorologist.

“I think what we’re looking at is certainly a concerning pattern for … the remainder of this month it looks like for many of those areas impacted, especially Alberta, Saskatchewan, perhaps portions of Manitoba and north or northeastern B.C.,” he said.