Wildfires affect not just the air we breathe, but the water we drink. earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/15479...

🔥New paper - Comparative Analysis of Ensemble and Deterministic Models for Fire Weather Index (FWI) System Forecasting. Ensemble forecasts for fire management decision-making include probabilistic fire growth modelling, long-term strategic planning etc. journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...

UBC-O just posted two full-time term lecturer positions in fire ecology as part of the Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program The positions will handle fire ecology courses and prescribed fire training. Applications are open until October 31, 2025. ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ubcfac...

The 2025 BC fire season area burned (872k ha) has moved into 5th place with the recent fire activity. This means that the top 6 fire seasons have been since 2017 (records go back to 1950) Area burned-red bars (2017-2025 graph below) far exceeds the green bars (1950-2016). Climate change in action.

3 out of 4 Canadians are concerned about the climate crisis, up 15-points since October 2024, according to Abacus abacusdata.ca/public-conce...

New study in Nature on the Long-range PM2.5 pollution and health impacts from the 2023 Canadian wildfires www.nature.com/articles/s41... 'We find that 354 million (277–421 million) people in North America and Europe were exposed to daily PM2.5 air pollution caused by Canadian wildfires in 2023'

Breaking News: The U.S. will provide wildfire fighters with masks, reversing a ban after a New York Times series on smoke and firefighters’ health.

Discussing the current wildfire situation in Canada, with guest Mike Flannigan - wildfire expert and professor at Thompson Rivers University. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwOW... @mikeflannigan.bsky.social

Canada's wildfire season is still going strong, especially out west. Join Mike Flannigan and me LIVE tomorrow evening (Monday) at 8 PM MDT / 7 PM PDT for a discussion and Q&A. Bring your questions! Chat will be streamed here: youtube.com/@KylesForeca... @mikeflannigan.bsky.social

Our op-ed in the Santa Fe New Mexican today highlights the potential losses from closure of the nine US Forest Service Regional Offices, namely local leadership knowledge and capacity, experienced people, and priceless documentary records: www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/my_v...

Double Yikes for BC wildfires Lots of lightning this weekend in BC (& WA-OR-ID) after a very long hot & dry period. Fuels are receptive (Duff Moisture Code is high - means very dry fuels where ltg fires typically ignite). If the forecast holds, I expect 100-200 new fire starts during Sept. 6-9 in BC

BC has 64 out of control wildfires burning and many of these are burning intensely. GOES-West 3.9 micron band (sensitive to high temperatures from wildfires) loop below showing active fires (white) and very active fires (red)

Numerous large and active fires in central BC producing large smoke flumes. GOES- West geocolor below.

Some late fire season fires in the Yukon. GOES-West geocolor loop below.

This is not normal. Japan is continuing its run of astonishing temperature records. The country has just had its hottest summer for the third year in a row, and by a substantial margin. Data: JMA

Global #wildfires #openburning intensity & emissions for August 2025 in #CopernicusAtmosphere Monitoring Service GFAS data ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/datasets/cam.... Ongoing extreme Canada fires, record Spain+European fires & peak seasonal tropical fires @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social @ecmwf.int

Lots of fire in BC today - 140 active fires with 58 out of control. Some lightning today and tomorrow but possibly lots of lightning next Friday - Saturday in BC - Pacific NW. This would be after another hot -dry week means forest fuels would be very receptive to lightning strikes (ECMWF ltg map)

Fort Providence issues evacuation alert Fort Providence has issued an evacuation alert while a new evacuation notice has been issued for Jean Marie River due to wildfires.

I'll host a special Labor Day livestream on 9/1 @ 10am PT to discuss the upcoming extreme/record-breaking western Canadian heatwave, the complex and unusual weather pattern driving it, and implications for (lesser) CA heat & West Coast wildfire. #CAwx #CAfire

A double whammy - a smoke front followed by a cold front in NWT. Lots of very active fires in the NWT producing lots of smoke - GOES-West geocolor loop below. Expect significant growth on fires today as winds increase ahead of the fire and then shifts directions so that the flank becomes the head

Whati NWT issues an evacuation order due to a wildfire www.nnsl.com/home/whati-i...

This is a good read. It features some of my own research as well as the expertise of two of Canada's top wildfire scientists, Dr. Ellen Whitman and Dr. @mikeflannigan.bsky.social.🔥

Yikes! No rain for BC for 15 days (WA -OR - CA as well) - a little exaggeration but not much. 15 day ECMWF - Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) for next 15 days shows little or no rain for BC. Our fuels are dry already and they will be even more receptive to lightning/human-caused fires.

Active fires burned through the night in central BC due to drought (traditional and flash -- associated with a strong blocking upper ridge). Smoke from these fires evident in the GOES-West geocolor loop. Potential for more fire starts today and for the development of Pyrocbs (fire generated tstms)

Pyrocb (fire generated thunderstorm) on the #GarnetFire on the GOES-West geocolor loop below. Expect rapid growth.

Lots of active fires in the NWT this evening. Some pyrocu to the right of the gold line. Notice the south winds near the surface but as the column rises the winds shift to westerly

We need a national wildfire fighting force.

Canada has been at National Preparedness Level (NPL)5 for over 77% of the days in the 2025 fire season. NPL5 (highest level - see chart below). Problem - US is at NPL4 & record-breaking season in Europe so where are the extra resources - southern hemisphere. Clearly, we do not have enough resources.

Job alerts Interested in Prescribed Burning (PB) in Canada. Two positions at University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) - PB Fire Manager and PB Operations Manager. Closing date Sept. 7th for both positions ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ubcsta... ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ubcsta...

Part 2 of my deep dive examining how and why many parts of North America used to have greater wildfire burn rates... and how climate factors in: thetradeoff.substack.com/p/part-2-man...

Great coverage of Bear Gulch 🔥 in @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social +excellent context RE 🔥 west of Cascades from UW's Crystal Raymond. @uw-sefs.bsky.social @uwenvironment.bsky.social #HarveyLab #wffrc This is burning very close to our existing 🌲🔥 research sites. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Matt Godsoe, director of the Emergency Management Strategy Implementation Office at Public Safety Canada, said that increasingly destructive natural disasters have stretched thin the current system, and that relying on the army is unsustainable. I agree www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

As Mike Flannigan – one of Canada’s leading experts in boreal wildfire dynamics – explained to me, there are three main ingredients in the “recipe for wildfire” – Fuel, Ignition, and Weather – and changes to our climate are influencing all of these in complex ways.

A good story about current and historical fire activity in Canada (and the US) though I may be biased thetradeoff.substack.com/p/north-amer...

Rapidly growing fire El Dorado county California- Coyote Fire. GOES-West geocolor loop below. Cal Fire has it listed at 400 acres but the loop suggests it is larger than that. www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025

An update - looks like the Long Lake fire in Nova Scotia will experience strong winds associated with Hurricane Erin this weekend but no rain. The Kingston fire in Newfoundland might catch a shower but will likely miss the rain. However, it will definitely see the strong winds with Erin.

The heat is coming to BC. An upper ridge will bring 7-10 days of hot dry weather (ECMWF 500 mb height anomaly map below). Forecast for Kamloops below with 6+ days 30C or higher. Fortunately, it does not look like much lightning activity until the ridge breakdown - this is a classic fire situation

Fire and Hurricanes? Yes, a long way off but keep a watch on Erin as it moves NE with the prec. staying offshore but the wind field could influence fires in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. ECMWF loop below Tropical systems impacting fires has happened in Europe (Opheila 2017) and Australia.

GOES West geocolor loop showing two active fires this evening. Mount Underwood Fire near Port Alberni BC is growing rapidly and smoke will be reaching Vancouver shortly. wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map The Bear Gulch Fire in Washington State is also very active this evening

GOES-West geocolor loop showing new active fire near Port Alberni BC. Also, active fire in Washington State.

Canada wildfire season already second worst on record as experts warn of ‘new reality’ www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

New paper out - Regional wildfire smoke reduces boreal forest carbon uptake iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1... Wildfires are a source of carbon and they can reduce the carbon sink from the forest. Cumulative Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) shows a big drop in 2011 Day 138 due to wildfire smoke.

Canada is on fire again. Is it time for a national forest fire fighting force in Canda? Results from a poll last year shows that about 3 out of 4 Canadians think it is time. abacusdata.ca/forest-fire-...

GOES-East Geocolor loop below. Lots of smoke but spreading to the NE (going to Europe?) and not the states. Wildfires spreading rapidly with the hot and windy conditions despite relative humidities of 50%

The next few days will more than likely bring one of Colorado’s largest wildfires in history. Hot-dry-windy peaks Thursday on the GEFS and Friday on the 00Z GFS. EFI supports rare wind gusts for this time of year both days. Fuel dryness is already extreme and only getting worse.

Kudos to the province of Nova Scotia for taking proactive steps to reduce the likelihood of damaging forest fires. Often steps like this are taken after the fires are spreading rapidly across the landscape. news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/08/0...

"This is the largest wildfire evacuation Manitoba will have seen in people's living memory," Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said..."It's not a fire in one region, we have fires in every region. That is a sign of a changing climate that we are going to have to adapt to." 🌍 www.yahoo.com/news/article...

NPL4 anyone - USA? Lots of active fires in the states - GOES West 3.9 micron (white = active fire and red = very active). Panels showing fires in CA and then around the four corners. Red flag warnings out and the Hot Dry Windy Index is above the 95th% for days for parts of the west.