Northwest Ontario
Western Canada isn’t the only place burning. Northwest Ontario and parts of Manitoba have been engulfed by flames in what is an abnormally fierce wildfire season for the region. More than 157 fires are burning in the region, and have led to the evacuation of First Nations and others in their path. That includes the Kenora 51 Fire, which, at 386,458 acres, is nearly the size of the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, the largest in the U.S.
All told, Ontario has seen nearly four-and-a-half times more acres burned this year than the 10-year average while Manitoba has seen five-and-half-times the average area burned, according to data kept by Natural Resources Canada.
The unusually intense fires have, like their western counterparts, have also created their own weather. Satellite images released by NASA show fires across Manitoba sending pyrocumulonimbus clouds climbing into the sky, a sign that the fires are burning intensely.
Indeed, thick smoke from the fires has covered the region in a toxic haze. Combined with smoke from the western fires, poor air quality has spread as far east as Maine and led to ominous sunsets across the Maritime Provinces and East Coast.
