The streets of a popular Sask. resort town are much quieter after a wildfire pre-emergency alert
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CTV News
6 minutes ago
- CTV News
Heat alerts, air quality warnings issued across Canada
The air quality in Montreal declined due to wildfires in Ontario. (Daniel J. Rowe/CTV News) Environment Canada has issued a number of heat and air quality advisories for several provinces and territories across the country. This comes amid ongoing wildfires, which are Canada's second-worst on record and have consumed 3.7 million hectares, six times the area of P.E.I., as of last month. Here's where heat and air quality advisories remain in place. Ontario Across southern Ontario, including Toronto, heat warnings remain in effect with daytime highs reaching 31 to 34 C and humidex values soaring to between 37 and 42. This will last through Thursday, according to Environment Canada. 'A cooler airmass is expected to arrive on Thursday night bringing an end to this heat event,' the heat warning said. The weather agency said air quality values are expected to reach moderate to high risk this afternoon and evening as elevated levels of ozone are expected. According to Swiss air quality tracker IQAir, Toronto currently has the 10th worst air quality in the world as of 8:35 a.m. local time. Quebec Environment Canada indicates hot conditions across southern Quebec, mirroring Ontario's high heat and humidex warnings. Daytime temperatures are expected to reach 29 to 32 C, with humidex values between 35 and 40. Overnight lows of 19 to 21 C will provide little relief from the heat, Environment Canada warned. According to IQAir, Montreal ranks 14th on the worst air quality in the world. The Prairies Air quality advisories cover a large swath of Canada's Prairie provinces. Environment Canada warns for parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, smoke is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility. It warns air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can vary over short distances and from hour to hour. British Columbia On the West Coast, an air quality alert is issued for Fort Nelson – a region in the northeastern part of B.C. Environment Canada warned the region will be impacted by wildfire smoke over the next 24 to 48 hours. Smoke is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility, it added. Atlantic Canada Heat warnings are in place for several provinces in Atlantic Canada. In P.E.I., Kings, Prince and Queens counties are under heat warnings that will see temperatures sit between 28 and 30 C,with humidex values near 37. The warning said cooler temperatures are expected along the coast. Along parts of the western shore and northern coast of Nova Scotia, residents can expect daytime temperatures of 28 to 32 C, with humidex values reaching 36 to 40. In Newfoundland and Labrador, regions including Avalon Peninsula North, St. John's and vicinity, and Bonavista North will experience daytime highs of 28 to 30 C and humidex values between 34 38. In regions across New Brunswick, daytime temperatures will reach 30 to 33 C with humidex values near 40. Northwest Territories and Nunavut In the Northwest Territories, the Thebacha region, including Ft. Smith and Salt River Reserve, is under a heat warning with temperatures reaching 29 C and later cooling down to 15 C. This is expected over the next three to five days, the warning said. Air quality warnings were issued for areas in the N.W.T. including Ft. Liard, Ft. Providence and Ft. Simpson, where smoke is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility. In Nunavut, the region of Igloolik is under a fog advisory as dense fog continues Wednesday morning. Near-zero visibility in fog is expected. The advisory said conditions may improve at times. However, onshore northeasterly winds will continue and the fog will 'persist' Wednesday night and Thursday.
CBC
7 minutes ago
- CBC
Campfires to be banned on B.C.'s South Coast as hot spell continues
Campfires will be prohibited starting Thursday at noon PT on B.C.'s South Coast as the region continues to swelter under an extended hot spell. The B.C. Wildfire Service's (BCWS) Coastal Fire Centre announced the campfire ban on Tuesday, which will apply to the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. BCWS maps from Tuesday showed extreme fire danger for the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The ban will not apply to Haida Gwaii and parts of the Central Coast, including Bella Coola. It comes due to a period of elevated temperatures on the South Coast, with fire information officer Kimberly Kelly saying the ban was in the interest of public safety. "We have seen hot dry conditions persist, and over the last 48 hours, an outflow weather pattern developed, which is bringing that hot dry air down from the Interior," she said Tuesday afternoon. "We've seen above seasonal temperatures, low relative humidities, and that means that our fine forest fuels are not recovering overnight with less moisture in the air." WATCH | High temperatures on the South Coast: How are Vancouverites staying cool while enjoying the heat? 19 hours ago Campfires — which fall under Category 1 fires, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service — are fires that are no more than half a metre high by half a metre wide, though outdoor stoves will still be allowed under the campfire ban. Anyone breaching the ban could be hit with a $1,150 violation ticket, an administrative penalty of up to $10,000, or fines of up to $100,000 and one year in jail if convicted in court. Larger Category 2 and Category 3 fires — which include larger stubble fires and large burn piles — are already prohibited throughout B.C. Kelly says the ban will be in place until Oct. 31, but it could be rescinded before then if there is a lot of rain or lower temperatures. She says there have been 71 fires so far this year in the Coastal Fire Centre, compared to 50 blazes at this point in 2024. All but one of the wildfires this year was caused by human activity, according to the officer. "Human-caused wildfires are completely preventable. So we do again urge the public to please be responsible," she said. "We would really like to support our crews in reserving them for lightning-caused wildfires, which we cannot prevent, and the public plays a really big role in that." Evacuation alerts lifted Elsewhere in B.C., the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has rescinded multiple evacuation alerts as the threat from a series of wildfires appears to have passed. The August Lake wildfire near Princeton, B.C., is listed as "being held" and the alert for residents that was in place since Saturday has been lifted. Residents of about 30 properties were previously ordered evacuated due to the fire, which is listed by the wildfire services as 14 hectares in size as of Tuesday evening. The nearby Princeton Golf Club said in a post online that news of the alert being lifted is a "big relief for everyone in the area" and it is grateful for the efforts of firefighters and air personnel. The regional district also lifted an evacuation alert for Cathedral Provincial Park due to the Young Creek wildfire, saying the threat to safety has passed.
CBC
36 minutes ago
- CBC
Communities surrounding out of control wildfire near Chance Harbour told to be ready to flee
Residents of Jamestown and Winter Brook on Newfoundland's Bonavista Peninsula are being asked to be prepared to evacuate quickly as a wildfire continues to burn nearby. Chance Harbour is receiving the most attention of the seven fires burning in the province as all others are either under control or being held, said Provincial fire duty officer Mark Lawlor. He said there's been no change in size of the 1,200-hectare fire as of Wednesday but weather conditions can rapidly change. "The predictions we have are that the fire shouldn't reach those two communities [Jamestown and Winter Brook on Wednesday]," he told CBC News. "If the temperature gets higher, the relative humidity gets lower, and the wind speed increases significantly, that prediction could fail and we could see the fire moving faster than we predicted." A statement from the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture sent Tuesday night said "forecasted north-northwest winds have the potential for heavy smoke and fire growth" toward communities. That forecast is still valid as of Wednesday morning, said Lawlor, although the flames sit 6 kilometres away from residential areas. 'A helpless feeling' Courtney Russell is one of the people playing the waiting game in Winter Brook. She said there was something eerie about looking out her window Wednesday morning, watching the haze drift through the air. "All the smoke is kind of creeping back into our bay," said Russell. Russell and her family have their essentials packed away in a car in case they need to leave at a moment's notice but said waiting for the call to leave is gut wrenching. "My heart goes out to the crowd out in Pudding Cove … There's been so many cabins lost already and there's cabins that are still at risk of being burned now," said Russell. "It's a devastating feeling. It's a helpless feeling. I would not wish this on anybody," she added. The tight knit community is collectively holding its breath, and according to Russell they are putting a lot of faith in the water bombers and the firefighters steadily suppressing the flames. Meanwhile in Labrador, Lawlor said crews have a "good handle" on the fires near Cartwright and Winokapu. While the Winokapu fire — 15 kilometres south of the Trans Labrador Highway on the North side of the Churchill River — is technically considered to be out of control, it's not considered a threat but a smouldering ground fire. Lawlor said a water bomber and helicopters are stationed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay if needed, but he feels there are adequate resources in Labrador at the moment.
