The long-awaited cool rain is coming

Satellite image released May 20, 2023 by the United States Forest Fire Agency in the province of Alberta, Canada

Fresh rain is expected in western Canada starting Sunday, which could help rescue workers contain the blazes, according to authorities, who were grappling with 87 active fires on Saturday.

More than 800,000 hectares are already burning in this province, which declared a state of emergency in early May and asked for foreign aid.

“Scattered showers and thunderstorms” were already observed in the province of Alberta on Saturday, said Christie Tucker of the Alberta Fire Department.

“Our forecasters are tracking a front arriving in the province starting tomorrow,” she told a news conference, adding that it should bring “significantly cool temperatures, humidity and even rain.”

This weather phenomenon is expected to last “a few days,” Ms. Trucker said.

“It all depends on where exactly this rain is going to fall… But in the area where we expect it to happen it’s likely to make a big difference” for the 2,500 firefighters battling 87 forest and bush fires, 23 of which are still alive were considered Saturday night. Not mastered.

As of Saturday, more than 10,000 people were still affected by evacuation orders in Alberta.

The situation in western Canada remains “volatile,” according to Cyndee Evans, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Temperatures this weekend were again above seasonal norms, hovering around 28 degrees.

And that May bank holiday weekend is usually the one with the most man-made wildfires, especially due to the influx of Canadian campers, according to emergency services.

Parks in western Canada’s Alberta province were therefore closed to the public during this period to reduce the risk of new fires breaking out.

In recent years, western Canada has been regularly hit by extreme weather events, the intensity and frequency of which have increased due to global warming.

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Darren Pena

Avid beer trailblazer. Friendly student. Tv geek. Coffee junkie. Total writer. Hipster-friendly internet practitioner. Pop culture fanatic.

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