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Radar Reveals Insane Wildfire Smoke Engulfing North America

WALTER TYCHNOWICZ/AFP via Getty Images

Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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Radar released Monday shows a series of large wildfires in Canada burning simultaneously, sending smoke across the North American continent.

The radar graphics released by the National Weather Service (NWS) on Monday evening show a huge plume of smoke from a series of wildfires, particularly across the western Canadian provinces. With current wind and weather patterns, the prevailing northwest-to-southeast flow will bring the smoke down into the Ohio Valley in the coming days, NWS predicted.

The enormous wildfires in Alberta, Canada, have prompted mass evacuations and decreased energy production in the country’s primary oil-producing region, Reuters reported. Meteorologists don’t expect any rain to help firefighting efforts for at least the next 10 days or more. Seasonal heat records have also been broken in May, contributing to the spread, according to the outlet.

The weather forecast is proving to be “a huge challenge” for both firefighters and Canadian soldiers who’ve arrived to tackle the crisis, Reuters reported. “We’re very concerned about the possibility of dry lightning in an area that’s already got a pretty high fire risk,” Environment Canada meteorologist Sara Hoffman told the outlet. (RELATED: London Is Burning: Footage Shows Wildfires Erupting Along Motorway In UK Capital)

Some 30,000 people have been forced out of their homes and a minimum 319,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (3.7% of national production) have been lost thus far in Canada’s drastic fire season, according to Reuters. At least 90 fires were burning in Alberta as of Monday afternoon, up from 74 on Friday.