Smoky skies back in Alberta as wildfires spread
CBC
Just as the last vestiges of winter gave way to a few days of warm weather, smoke has clouded Alberta's skies, bringing with it a foreboding memory of summers past, as wildfires continue to burn in the northern parts of the province.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued 321 air quality alerts, spanning the province from High Level to Milk River. Alberta Wildfire is reporting 50 active wildfires as of 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, with two currently classified as out-of-control.
One, near Fort McMurray, tripled in size overnight to extend its reach to about 5,500 hectares. The other, burning in Grande Prairie County in northwestern Alberta, had grown to about 1,400 hectares as of 1 p.m. Sunday.
Heather Rombough, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the Edmonton area, Grande Prairie and Peace River are currently experiencing the worst air-quality conditions.
Smoke is moving slowly eastward, said Rombough, and should continue to move in that direction overnight on Sunday. Areas along the western edge of the smoke area, in the foothills, will see improvements in conditions first, she added.
While much of the province should see skies beginning to clear by Monday night, conditions in the northernmost areas of Alberta will continue to be poor through at least Tuesday, said Rombough.
With little precipitation expected in the coming forecast, Rombough said people close to areas where wildfires are burning should continue to pay attention to information from local authorities about potential evacuations.
WATCH | Fires around Grande Prairie push people from their homes:
Rombough said that it's no longer uncommon to see wildfires burning so early in the season, based on observations over the last five to 10 years.
"The continuation of some of the significant fires from last year could have contributed to seeing such flare-ups so early," she said.
"It does seem like this is the trend that we're heading toward. It lines up with the science, the research that's being done on climate change and that sort of thing. I mean, every year is going to be different, so it's hard to really predict. But it does seem to be becoming more of what the new normal is."
Jose Cano, who drove to Calgary from Edmonton on Saturday, said the smoke and the wildfires are to be expected after such a dry winter.
"The smoke ... it's become kind of our life now. Every year its getting worse and this year I guess [it's earlier] than before," said Cano.
Still, Cano said the conditions have dampened his trip.
Premier Susan Holt says she doesn’t have an explanation for why regulators, policy experts and others responsible for gas price regulation didn’t clue in to a simple way to lower prices for consumers until the end of 2025.
The new year will be bringing with it Toronto’s first traffic czar.
For the first time in 111 years, items once belonging to the late Albert Mullins were back in the hands of his family members thanks to the detective work of one Montreal historian.
The year that saw the remains of two First Nations women brought home from a Manitoba landfill and a search get underway for the remains of a third showed how far reconciliation efforts have come — and how far they still need to go, the families say
The RCMP has just released a warning stating there are dangerous, armed individuals on Big Island Cree Nation, near Meadow Lake.
A new land-use plan that Alberta’s government has for the province’s Upper Smoky region is drawing criticism from environmentalists who say they believe it lacks sufficient environmental safeguards, which poses a significant threat to the endangered southern woodland caribou.
Canadian officials made pains to show they were cracking down on illicit drug production in the country in 2025.
A year after the City of Hamilton cancelled its overnight warming bus, it is funding a new all-night warming centre for men at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church on James Street S.
This year has, without a doubt, been a turbulent one for the Canadian auto industry. Uncertainty dominated the sector — both for auto workers hit with job changes and companies trying to manage a mix of tariffs and changing market conditions.
A woman died at a ski resort in the Canadian Rockies over the weekend, after falling into deep snow.
Two pregnant women who would otherwise be living in a cold tent. A man whose leg wound was so bad it required intravenous medication. Two young people who no longer need to couch surf to get by.
The province has added 12 kilometres of designated trails for all-terrain vehicles in western Prince Edward Island that will connect existing routes in O’Leary and Tignish.
Every year, CBC North publishes hundreds of stories online — breaking news, investigative reporting, political coverage, community features, longform storytelling, and much more.