Quiet forest fire season in N.B.

Forest fire near River Glade, NB, 07 May 2013 (Dearing)

A wet, cold spring and a dry, humid July have led to one of the quietest forest fire seasons in recent memory in New Brunswick.

Statistics show 152 fires for the season to date which compares to 206 fires over the past ten years.

Last year was also much busier with 242 fires recorded by the middle of August.

Provincial wildfire officials say although July was warmer than normal, high humidity levels helped prevent fires from starting and from spreading.

B.C. wildfire smoke in the Maritimes!

The sun becomes an orange ball due to wildfire smoke, SE Calgary, AB, 14 Aug 2018 (Dearing)

British Columbia is more than 4,000 kilometres away from New Brunswick but that hasn’t stopped forest fire smoke from making its way across Canada.

On Friday afternoon, Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement: A plume of smoke from fires in Western Canada is moving at high altitude across the Maritimes today causing hazy skies and a reddish sun.

This smoke is not expected to reach the surface or affect air quality in our region and the plume will move off to the east tonight.

The British Columbia Wildfire Service says more than 600 fires are burning in the province with many regions still under air quality advisories.

Rain… finally!

Location of forest fire, south of Riverview, NB (Google Maps)

Some much needed rain finally fell over parts of New Brunswick early this morning which helped firefighters who are battling a number of forest fires.

A fire about 3 km south of Riverview town limits is now considered “under control” and officials say the rain helped and ground crews are now focusing on hot spots.

The fire was reported on Saturday morning and was attacked by several water bombers and crews from the Department of Natural Resources, Riverview and Hillsborough.

A total of 15 fires are currently burning across the province which are being described as either “contained”, “under control” or “being patrolled”.

Thousands evacuated in B.C. wildfires

Wildfire north of Cache Creek, BC, 07 July 2017 (BC Transportation/Twitter)

A state of emergency is in place across British Columbia which gives government special authority over more than 230 wildfires. 

B.C. wildfire officials say weeks of hot, dry weather combined with strong winds and dry lightning have led to almost 16,000 hectares being burned so far. 

More than 7,000 residents in the Interior and Cariboo regions have been evacuated from communities like Cache Creek, Princeton, Ashcroft and 100 Mile House to be housed in Kamloops. 

Temperatures remain hot in these areas this weekend soaring above 30 C. 

Forest fire tragedy in Portugal

Burnt cars block a road in the Pedrogao Grande area, Portugal, 18 June 2017 (AP/Armando Franca)

A massive forest fire in central Portugal has claimed more than 60 lives and injured dozens of others with hot, windy conditions fanning the flames.

Many died in their vehicles trying to flee the blaze while others died from smoke inhalation.

Portugal has declared three days of mourning in what has been called the worst human tragedy in recent times.

More than 2,000 firefighters are on the scene with help coming from Spain and across Europe.

Officials believe lightning started the fire on Saturday in the mountainous area of Pedrogao Grande, northeast of Lisbon.

Welcome to the 30s Club

Shepody Bay from Dorchester Beach, NB, 26 June 2016 (Dearing)

Greater Moncton reached a daytime high of 29.8 C today which is the warmest temperature so far in 2016.

Environment Canada reports at least nine other communities in New Brunswick reached 30 C or higher.

The hotspot was Bathurst at a sizzling 33.3 C.

The warm, windy conditions were not helpful for firefighters near Bouctouche battling a forest fire which was eventually brought under control.

PM Trudeau in Fort McMurray

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tours burnt-out areas of Fort McMurray, AB with Fire Chief Darby Allen, 13 May 2016 (Reuters)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Fort McMurray on Friday for the first time since wildfires destroyed more than 10 percent of the city or about 2,400 buildings.

Trudeau praised the work of emergency responders including firefighters for helping to save most of the city including the downtown core.

More than 90,000 people remain displaced and are staying with family or friends or remain in evacuation centres waiting for word on when they can return home.

Trudeau announced an extension of jobless benefits for those in the region which follows emergency financial aid announced for fire victims by the Red Cross and the Alberta government.

Although the wildfires have moved away from Fort McMurray, officials say the blazes could burn for weeks to come in forested areas.

New Brunswick under burn ban

Courtesy GNB

The forest fire season officially began this week and the entire province of New Brunswick is already under a burn ban.

The Department of Natural Resources says with little precipitation lately and the snow gone, the landscape has yet to become green and it is a dangerous time for fires.

Dead grass and branches become fast fuel for fires during early spring.

DNR reports about 30 fires have been recorded in New Brunswick so far this month which is near the 10-year average.

Dry July creates busy fire season in N.B.

Wild roses in NE Moncton, 14 July 2015 (Dearing)

Prior to today in Greater Moncton, only 1 mm of rain had fallen this July which is dramatically different from a very wet June.

Some rain across New Brunswick this afternoon helped lower the fire risk and a province-wide burn ban has been lifted.

The Department of Natural Resources is having a busier forest fire season compared to last year.

More than 180 fires have been recorded in New Brunswick so far in 2015 which DNR officials say is much higher than this time last year.

Smoke from western fires drifts into N.B.

Forest fires may be burning in Western Canada right now but smoke from those blazes has drifted thousands of kilometres east into New Brunswick.

Smoke was spotted in the Greater Moncton area on Monday and Tuesday although it was not heavy enough to prompt a warning from Environment Canada.

Meantime as shown above, dry conditions in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan have led to an extreme fire danger while it remains mainly low from Manitoba to Atlantic Canada.