Following Canada’s extreme wildland fire season in 2023, unusually early and intense blazes are already raging in 2024.
Following Canada’s extreme wildland fire season in 2023, unusually early and intense blazes are already raging in 2024. Though wildfire activity does not typically become widespread or intense in British Columbia until several weeks later in the summer, smoke already smothered parts of the western Canadian province in mid-May.
The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image (above) of smoke billowing from several fires around the community of Fort Nelson and streaming east into Alberta on May 11, 2024. Terra and other NASA satellites observed the plume as it was lofted several kilometers into the air and spread eastward. The smoke drifted, at times, into parts of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the United States, triggering air quality concerns in several states.
One of the most menacing fires burned southeast of Fort Nelson and a nearby First Nation community, home to a combined 3,400 people. The fire grew rapidly after igniting on May 10, exacerbated by dry conditions and high winds from a passing cold front. Canadian authorities issued evacuation orders for both communities later that day.
Read more at NASA Earth Observatory
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.
