Oh, we're reading about this A LOT up here. It does seem to be a new-ish phenomenon. First it was the fires in Manitoba, which are the ones afflicting you folks. Now in NE British Columbia and, I just read, around Squamish, which is just up the coast from Vancouver. They've declared a state of emergency.
Some of these may have been smouldering underground from last year. We've had so many serious fires here in BC that it's also affecting our (once robust) hydro-electric production. The fires harden the ground so more runs off and doesn't get "directed" as well as it used to. BC Hydro has had to buy electricity for the last 3 years (22% last year), which was unheard of years ago. The times, they are a'changin.... alas.
