The provincial government has put in a request for help from other provinces as firefighters struggle to get B.C.’s wildfires under control. B.C. has already spent more than $80 million on firefighting efforts so far this year, blowing through a planned $63-million budget, Forests Minister Steve Thomson told reporters Monday morning. “We’re at a critical…

NASA satellites are keeping a close watch on the massive wildfires burning in southern British Columbia. A satellite captured today’s space view of the South Coast of the province: a massive thick blanket of wildfire smoke covers much of the Lower Mainland, the Strait of Georgia, the southern half of Vancouver Island and parts of…

The military has been called in to help care for 7,900 people from a northern Saskatchewan community that includes the province’s largest First Nation, as a rash of wildfires prompts a massive evacuation. Up to 5,000 of the evacuees will be taken hundreds of kilometres away to a refuge in Cold Lake, Alta., staffed by…

A forecast for lower temperatures and slower wind speeds may aid firefighters battling an out-of control wildfire near North Tallcree First Nation. Northern Alberta forest fires near High Level are a top priority this weekend, the minister of municipal affairs said Friday. On Thursday evening 200 people were evacuated from the small community about 100…

Though there has been more forest fire activity so far this year than in 2014, it hasn’t been above average. So far in 2015, there have been 286 forest fires in the province which have burnt more than 28,000 hectares. The 10-year provincial average for the first three months of the forest fire season is…

The Alberta government is warning that the weather is pushing the threat of wildfires in forested areas to extreme levels. The problem is continued hot, dry conditions and expected winds of up to 50 km/h. The province said Thursday wildfires that start under these conditions can grow very large, very quickly and are very difficult to put out….

Satellite images of the forest fires in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan have shown the extent of the wildfires that have displaced thousands of people this week. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Aqua satellite showed plumes of smoke stretching from multiple points hundreds of kilometres to the southeast. Actively burning areas are outlined in red, while forests appear dark…

Forest fire season is well underway across Ontario’s northern regions, and firefighters typically take advantage of the patchwork of lakes and rivers to draw water to battle the blazes. Sometimes, however, they literally fight fire with fire. Equipment like pumps, hoses and water bombers are common tools of the trade, but so is aerial ignition,…

Has the emerald ash borer finally met its match? In the latest attempt to halt the beetle in its bark tracks, scientists are introducing a non-stinging wasp to wage biological warfare against the nasty little critter that threatens to lay waste to entire forest canopies, one leafy ash tree at a time. Although scientists admit…

Smoke from northern Saskatchewan wildfires is blanketing much of the province today. The smoke has prompted health warnings from Environment Canada.