Canada, US warn of air quality hazards as Canadian fire smoke reaches Europe
By AFP
June 3, 2025
Huge plumes from Canada's wildfires sometimes reach very high altitude, where they pose less of an immediate health risk - Copyright AFP/File SAUL LOEB
Michel COMTE, with Marion Thibaut in Montreal
Canada’s wildfires, which have already forced evacuations of more than 26,000 people, continued their stubborn spread Tuesday, with heavy smoke choking millions of Canadians and Americans and reaching as far away as Europe.
Alerts were issued for parts of Canada and the neighboring United States warning of hazardous air quality.
A water tanker air base was consumed by flames in Saskatchewan province, oil production has been disrupted in Alberta, and officials warned of worse to come with more communities threatened each day.
“We have some challenging days ahead of us,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told a news conference, adding that the number of evacuees could rise quickly.
Every summer, Canada grapples with forest fires, but an early start to the wildfire season this year and the scale of the blazes — over two million hectares (494,000 acres) burned — is worrying.
The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been hardest hit. Both declared wildfire emergencies in recent days.
“This has been a very difficult time for many Canadians,” federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski told reporters in Ottawa.
“This wildfire season has started off more quickly, and it’s stronger, more intense,” she said, adding that the Canadian military has deployed aircraft to evacuate remote towns in Manitoba and was ready to also assist Saskatchewan and Alberta with firefighting.
Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the apocalyptic summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests were scorched.
As of Tuesday, there were 208 active fires across Canada. Half of them were listed as out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Many of the affected populations are Indigenous, and some small communities have burned to the ground.
– ‘Very intense few weeks’ –
Heavy smoke from the fires, meanwhile, has engulfed part of the continent, forcing residents of four Canadian provinces and the US states of Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin to limit outdoor activities.
“Smoke is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility,” Environment Canada said in a statement.
Wildfire smoke is comprised of gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particle pollution, which can be particularly hazardous to health.
Some of the worst smoke was in Alberta where three major oil sands producers — Canadian Natural Resources, MEG Energy Corp, and Cenovus Energy — this week evacuated workers and temporarily shut down hundreds of thousands of barrels of production per day.
Huge plumes of smoke even reached Europe, the European Union’s climate monitoring service said Tuesday.
Due to their very high altitude, they do not pose an immediate health risk, according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), but are likely to result in hazy skies and reddish-orange sunsets.
Additional plumes are expected to shade both continents in the coming days.
“Central regions of Canada have experienced a very intense few weeks in terms of wildfire emissions,” noted Mark Parrington, scientific director at CAMS.
Canadian authorities have forecast a more intense fire season than usual in central and western Canada, due in particular to severe or extreme drought.
“The significant reduction in snowpack in the spring led to early exposure of soil and vegetation, accelerating surface drying,” explained University of Ottawa professor Hossein Bonakdari.
“This early exposure acted as a silent amplifier, subtly setting the stage for extreme fires long before the first flame ignited,” he said.
Elsewhere, extensive forest fires have been raging in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District since early April, particularly east of Lake Baikal, generating carbon emissions of around 35 million tons, Copernicus reported.
By AFP
June 3, 2025
Huge plumes from Canada's wildfires sometimes reach very high altitude, where they pose less of an immediate health risk - Copyright AFP/File SAUL LOEB
Michel COMTE, with Marion Thibaut in Montreal
Canada’s wildfires, which have already forced evacuations of more than 26,000 people, continued their stubborn spread Tuesday, with heavy smoke choking millions of Canadians and Americans and reaching as far away as Europe.
Alerts were issued for parts of Canada and the neighboring United States warning of hazardous air quality.
A water tanker air base was consumed by flames in Saskatchewan province, oil production has been disrupted in Alberta, and officials warned of worse to come with more communities threatened each day.
“We have some challenging days ahead of us,” Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told a news conference, adding that the number of evacuees could rise quickly.
Every summer, Canada grapples with forest fires, but an early start to the wildfire season this year and the scale of the blazes — over two million hectares (494,000 acres) burned — is worrying.
The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been hardest hit. Both declared wildfire emergencies in recent days.
“This has been a very difficult time for many Canadians,” federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski told reporters in Ottawa.
“This wildfire season has started off more quickly, and it’s stronger, more intense,” she said, adding that the Canadian military has deployed aircraft to evacuate remote towns in Manitoba and was ready to also assist Saskatchewan and Alberta with firefighting.
Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the apocalyptic summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests were scorched.
As of Tuesday, there were 208 active fires across Canada. Half of them were listed as out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Many of the affected populations are Indigenous, and some small communities have burned to the ground.
– ‘Very intense few weeks’ –
Heavy smoke from the fires, meanwhile, has engulfed part of the continent, forcing residents of four Canadian provinces and the US states of Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin to limit outdoor activities.
“Smoke is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility,” Environment Canada said in a statement.
Wildfire smoke is comprised of gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particle pollution, which can be particularly hazardous to health.
Some of the worst smoke was in Alberta where three major oil sands producers — Canadian Natural Resources, MEG Energy Corp, and Cenovus Energy — this week evacuated workers and temporarily shut down hundreds of thousands of barrels of production per day.
Huge plumes of smoke even reached Europe, the European Union’s climate monitoring service said Tuesday.
Due to their very high altitude, they do not pose an immediate health risk, according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), but are likely to result in hazy skies and reddish-orange sunsets.
Additional plumes are expected to shade both continents in the coming days.
“Central regions of Canada have experienced a very intense few weeks in terms of wildfire emissions,” noted Mark Parrington, scientific director at CAMS.
Canadian authorities have forecast a more intense fire season than usual in central and western Canada, due in particular to severe or extreme drought.
“The significant reduction in snowpack in the spring led to early exposure of soil and vegetation, accelerating surface drying,” explained University of Ottawa professor Hossein Bonakdari.
“This early exposure acted as a silent amplifier, subtly setting the stage for extreme fires long before the first flame ignited,” he said.
Elsewhere, extensive forest fires have been raging in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District since early April, particularly east of Lake Baikal, generating carbon emissions of around 35 million tons, Copernicus reported.
By The Canadian Press
Updated: June 02, 2025
Cenovus Energy logos are on display at the Global Energy Show in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, June 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY — Some oilsands producers are removing workers and shutting production from their sites as wildfires rage in northeastern Alberta.
Cenovus Energy Inc. said Sunday only essential personnel are left at its Christina Lake oilsands operations south of Fort McMurray, Alta. It began shutting down production from the steam-driven project on Thursday and about 238,000 barrels of oil a day are now off-line.
“Based on the inspections the company has completed to date, it is not aware of any damage to its infrastructure and would anticipate a full restart of Christina Lake operations in the near term,” the Calgary-based producer said in a release.
Meanwhile, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said on Saturday that its Jackfish 1 site has been evacuated and that 36,500 barrels a day have been shut in.
“All workers are safe and accounted for with no reported injuries and have been relocated to other facilities in our thermal in situ operations,” the company said in a notice on its website.
“Canadian Natural is working together with local authorities to ensure the safe and orderly movement of people through the area, including providing support for first responders and community members.”
MEG Energy has only critical operating staff on site at its Christina Lake operations. The fires caused an outage to a utility’s power line connected to the site, but it’s able to keep running its production thanks to cogeneration capabilities.
The power outage has, however, delayed startup of a section of Christina Lake that had been down for maintenance.
“The safety of our people and protection of our assets remain our top priorities, and there is no immediate risk to either,” said chief executive Darlene Gates in a news release Saturday.
“We are working closely with authorities and co-ordinating with our industry peers to support each other and resume normal operations.”
The Alberta government says there are currently 49 active wildfires in the province, half of which are out of control. So far, more than 4,800 square kilometres have burned.
The fire affecting the oilsands operators, dubbed the Caribou Lake Fire, is estimated at 615 square kilometres and remains out of control as of Monday.
Thousands have been forced from their homes across the Prairies as hot, dry conditions have helped flames quickly spread.
CALGARY — Some oilsands producers are removing workers and shutting production from their sites as wildfires rage in northeastern Alberta.
Cenovus Energy Inc. said Sunday only essential personnel are left at its Christina Lake oilsands operations south of Fort McMurray, Alta. It began shutting down production from the steam-driven project on Thursday and about 238,000 barrels of oil a day are now off-line.
“Based on the inspections the company has completed to date, it is not aware of any damage to its infrastructure and would anticipate a full restart of Christina Lake operations in the near term,” the Calgary-based producer said in a release.
Meanwhile, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said on Saturday that its Jackfish 1 site has been evacuated and that 36,500 barrels a day have been shut in.
“All workers are safe and accounted for with no reported injuries and have been relocated to other facilities in our thermal in situ operations,” the company said in a notice on its website.
“Canadian Natural is working together with local authorities to ensure the safe and orderly movement of people through the area, including providing support for first responders and community members.”
MEG Energy has only critical operating staff on site at its Christina Lake operations. The fires caused an outage to a utility’s power line connected to the site, but it’s able to keep running its production thanks to cogeneration capabilities.
The power outage has, however, delayed startup of a section of Christina Lake that had been down for maintenance.
“The safety of our people and protection of our assets remain our top priorities, and there is no immediate risk to either,” said chief executive Darlene Gates in a news release Saturday.
“We are working closely with authorities and co-ordinating with our industry peers to support each other and resume normal operations.”
The Alberta government says there are currently 49 active wildfires in the province, half of which are out of control. So far, more than 4,800 square kilometres have burned.
The fire affecting the oilsands operators, dubbed the Caribou Lake Fire, is estimated at 615 square kilometres and remains out of control as of Monday.
Thousands have been forced from their homes across the Prairies as hot, dry conditions have helped flames quickly spread.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025.
Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
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