Officials say a wildfire in Southwest Washington that ballooned Sunday, causing regional air quality issues, may have been started by a firework or firearm.
Wildfires are still burning in Quebec's northern zone, with 11 fires still considered out of control early Tuesday morning. However, the provincial forest fire prevention agency, SOPFEU, said rain since Sunday and rising humidity have helped stabilize the flames for the time being.
The B.C. Wildfire Service says the cold front in northern B.C. is expected to generate strong winds, thunderstorms and the potential for dry lightning in the region plagued by drought.
The fires affecting Moscow are concentrated in the Ryazan region, some 250 kilometers to the south. This is not the first time smog has appeared in Moscow in recent months, with local authorities advising residents to wear masks to protect themselves earlier this month.
Gallery | The forest fires have covered an area larger than Greece and are emitting black smog that harms nearby populations.
Sakha is now the fourth region in the Far East where a state of emergency is currently in place due to wildfires. The other three are the Zabaykalsky and Amur regions, as well as the republic of Buryatia. Russia’s wildfire season officially began in early March. By mid-April, regions in the Far East recorded nearly twice as many fires as they had during the same period last year, with most blazes caused by human negligence.
Russian weather officials and environmentalists have said climate change is a major factor behind the increase in fires.
Air quality alerts remain in place for several areas in B.C.'s southern Interior on Tuesday as more than 200 wildfires continue to burn through hundreds of square kilometres of the province.
Wildfires in Russia have burned across a combined area the size of Greece so far in 2020, surpassing official estimates threefold. Experts warn that this year’s blazes could become the most destructive in history.
Locals blamed a mining company for attempting to hide what they called an 'ecological tragedy.'
Most of the blazes are in a region that saw possibly the hottest-ever temperature above the Arctic Circle this month.
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