Ugh! The smoke has arrived.

[u4ic]

14. I highly recommend reading Fire Weather

Last edited Fri Jul 17, 2026, 12:12 AM - Edit history (1)

by John Valliant. It mixes in the massive fire in Fort Murray back in 2016 with the current issues of wildfires, and the problems with the way we fight them now. They are a completely different beast to what they were only a couple of decades ago.

Climate change, drought is a huge issue, especially in BC and the prairie provinces (though flooding in Alberta this year - I don't know the state of Northern Ontario as I haven't lived in ON for decades). Another issue is zombie fires, basically wildfires that continue to smoulder in the muskeg, under the snow throughout the winter and then start up again in the spring (more relevant to northern areas of BC, the prairies and the Territories). The winters are milder and the snow cover isn't as deep, nor does it stay as long as even 25 years ago (personal observation).

There are also dying trees due to the pine beetles not being killed off in the winter, making them more vulnerable to catching fire, and forests that are being replanted are being replaced with non native species and/or species that aren't as hardy as the original.

So, so many reasons.

Edit: I also don't know if you realize just how much of Canada is covered in forest. In the case of these fires in northern Ontario - the province is 1/3 larger than Texas. Other than southern and eastern ON, most of the rest of it is thick, dense forest. So, basically the size of Texas being thick forest and lakes (ON has about 200,000 lakes). Because of all the lakes, the area tends to have higher humidity than, say, the BC interior, another problematic region).