Smoke from Canadian wildfires will make breathing outdoors difficult today for millions of people across the six largest provinces and into the United States.
Grieving parents who lost their nine-year-old boy last week say their son died after a severe asthma attack made worse by wildfire smoke engulfing parts of British Columbia.
At last measurement, the fire had burned about 14,000 hectares and remains within 10 kilometres of Tulita, but is on the far side of the Mackenzie River.
Samuel Roberts, 65, and Mark Elson, 51, said they were not prepared to be lost along the shore of Great Slave Lake when they headed out for a short fishing trip. But it became smoky and foggy, and the men became disoriented. The following day, when the air cleared, Roberts said they couldn't recognize anything. "We had no idea that we crossed over the Dettah side and [were] headed to the East Arm," said Elson.
From thick smoke to a complete evacuation, several Cree communities in northern Quebec are dealing with impacts of the wildfires raging in the region. "The fire is moving aggressively, and it's still moving quickly, headed towards Oujé-Bougoumou. This has created a lot of fear and anxiety in the community.
There's a wildfire burning near Fort Smith, N.W.T., about 9,000 hectares in size. Fire crews are currently at the scene. People are being evacuated from the Taltson Dam area "out of an abundance of caution," the territory says.
Volcano scientists issued an alert Wednesday, warning that a cloud of ash — from an eruption more than century ago — was headed toward Alaska's Kodiak Island. The ash is from the powerful 1912 eruption of Novarupta.
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.
Behchokǫ̀, a community of about 2,000 people northwest of Yellowknife, issued an evacuation order shortly before 6 p.m Monday evening. A wildfire is burning about 25 kilometres to the east of the Behchokǫ̀, and 45 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife.
Hunters in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, say that iron ore dust from the Mary River Mine is discolouring the land around Milne Inlet, deterring animals and making it hard to get clean water when people are camping.
Residents and visitors in Elsa and Keno City, Yukon, as well as areas of north Hansen Lake, have been put on an evacuation alert because of the Shanghai Creek wildfire currently burning out of control.
An additional 12,000 people in northwest Alberta have been placed on evacuation alert as an out-of-control wildfire in the area grows.
Smoke exposure can cause several symptoms, including sore eyes, tears, cough and runny nose. People who are active outdoors are the most at-risk, according to the health advisory issued Tuesday morning.
The British Columbia government has declared a state of emergency to support the provincewide response to the ongoing wildfire situation.
Environment Canada has issued air quality statements for parts of the N.W.T.'s Mackenzie Delta region, including Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic.
All Topics
All Countries
Any Date
Apply