Alberta is bracing for another challenging fire season and with fire officials urging communities to prepare for conditions to grow more volatile as a summer drought settles in.Firefighters travel through an area of Alberta forest ravaged by fire. Officials are bracing for another wildfire season marked by extreme heat and persistent drought.
"The drought conditions we've experienced in Alberta mean that it is still possible for trees and grasses to burn, particularly in the high winds that we have been seeing." The vast majority of the fires now burning began last year and smouldered through winter. Only 12 of the current fires ignited this spring."While we've been working diligently to extinguish them, it does mean that firefighters are entering the spring with a heavier fire load than usual."Frozen water and dry conditions a concern for central Alberta firefighting department
Tucker said 500 hectares has already been consumed by fire so far this season. That is up by about 400 hectares compared to the same last year.