Canadian Wildfires Affect Air Quality, Lumber Production

A skateboarder passes buildings shrouded in smoke from wildfires in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Credit: Todd Korol/Bloomberg)

In 2023 so far, about 120,000 Canadians across six provinces and territories have been forced to evacuate due to wildfires, and while most have been able to return to their homes, thousands of others across the country remain under evacuation orders as fires continue to burn.

As of Monday afternoon, Quebec’s government alone reported 112 active fires, with a total of 450 fires occurring in 2023 so far that have burned 752,081.9 hectares (about 1.65 million acres). This total is well above 10-year average at this same date for the area – 218 fires, with 2,213.4 hectares (about 5,469 acres) of land burned.