A lengthy rainfall and strong winds could dissipate the raging wildfires and smoky air gripping parts of Western Canada but thatsa国际传媒檚 not whatsa国际传媒檚 in the forecast for this week, says a senior climatologist with Environment Canada.
As wildfires in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba continue to burn, Environment Canadasa国际传媒檚 David Phillips says hesa国际传媒檚 particularly shocked that smoke was covering Alberta sa国际传媒渇rom as high as jet aircraft fly right down to the surface.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淥ne of the things that just blew my mind sa国际传媒� and it takes a lot for me to be surprised sa国际传媒� is that yesterday sa国际传媒� the temperature got up to 13.4 C (in Edmonton) but it was forecasted to be 26, 27,sa国际传媒� Phillips said Monday.
sa国际传媒淪o the temperature was half of what it would have been. This shows you how crazy that air column was. The sun couldnsa国际传媒檛 come in and warm the air.sa国际传媒�
Although some rain was in the forecast for some areas, Phillips said he doesnsa国际传媒檛 see any major weather system staying put in parts of the Prairies or British Columbia to help extinguish some of the flames.
sa国际传媒淲hat Western Canada needs is a long duration of rain, something that would spoil a camping trip over a weekend. Strong westerly winds that seem foreign to this time of year would also help to clear out the air, so theresa国际传媒檚 ways that meteorology can correct the situation, but we just donsa国际传媒檛 see them coming.
sa国际传媒淚n Edmonton, Alberta, you can taste it, smell it, see it and feel it. Itsa国际传媒檚 like smoking several packs of cigarettes to breathe that air in.sa国际传媒�
On Monday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency ended a fire ban as cooler temperatures and a light rainfall hit the province and let fire crews make some headway in their fight against the flames. Steve Roberts, vice-president of operations, said the agency revoked the fire ban because even though the number of wildfires was high, they were not as large in size.
There were 161 active fires blazing in Saskatchewan, an increase from the 137 reported fires on Friday. Roberts said Saskatchewan has had 424 wildfires this year, which is double the provincial average and one of the highest counts in its 10-year history.
But Phillips said Saskatchewan isnsa国际传媒檛 going to find an escape from the hot and dry temperatures any time soon.
sa国际传媒淲e havensa国际传媒檛 even hit the dog days of summer,sa国际传媒� Phillips said.
sa国际传媒淩egina has had 18 days of temperatures above 30 C. Typically, by this time, it would have had maybe eight or so, and normally for the whole year through to September, you end up with maybe 16,sa国际传媒� he said.
sa国际传媒淚 think the story is clearly that the heat came early, itsa国际传媒檚 been excruciatingly hot but itsa国际传媒檚 been essentially confined to the West. It is an unfortunate situation and itsa国际传媒檚 something wesa国际传媒檝e had to deal with a lot in recent years.sa国际传媒�
About 300 wildfires were burning across British Columbia on Monday and new evacuation orders were issued for properties in several regions. The BC Wildfire Service listed the fire danger as high to extreme across most of the southern half of B.C., while cool, damp weather had dropped the danger rating in the northern half.
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
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