Canadian wildfire smoke map and forecast

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. ST. LOUIS Canadian wildfires continue to burn making 2023 one of the worst wildfire seasons in more than three decades, according to the Canadian

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

ST. LOUIS — Canadian wildfires continue to burn making 2023 one of the worst wildfire seasons in more than three decades, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

More than 19 million acres have burned across the country. This surpasses the 1989 season which burned around 18 million acres. 

You can track the smoke from the fires as it shifts across North America this summer. A US government website called Air Now has a map that shows the location of the fires and the thickness of the smoke.

There are currently 503 active wildfires, 259 deemed uncontrolled according to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. The wildfires are concentrated in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. Smoke emitted from the fires has affected air quality in the United States and NASA reported smoke has reached parts of Europe.

The Associated Press reports that forecasters say the only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly. Even then the smoke will likely come back to the Midwest and East. That’s because neither the 235 out-of-control Canadian wildfires nor the stuck weather pattern that’s responsible for this mess of meteorological maladies are stubbornly showing no signs of relenting for the next week or longer. That’s what meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center figure.

Will the smoke return to your town? Where will the Canadian wildfire smoke blow next? The Canadian government provides a great tool from the Weather Forecast Research Team at the University of British Columbia. FireSmoke Canada shows you where the fires are and where the smoke will drift tomorrow.

The smoke has even reached the St. Louis.  After a smoky and hazy day Wednesday, air quality in St. Louis has improved with the smoke out of area. Air quality is in the Orange, which is unhealthy for those in the sensitive groups (eg people with lung disease such as asthma, children and older adults) due to high levels of ozone. Time outdoors should be limited according to the government. To keep track of air quality in the region go to Airnow.gov.

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