'Zombie Fires' burning at an alarming rate in Canada - BBC News

Canada's wildfire season is not over, with dozens of winter fires still burning beneath the soil.

13 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsClimateImage source, Sonja LeverkusImage caption, Smoke from a zombie fire pictured here in Fort Nelson, BCBy Nadine YousifBBC News, TorontoEven in the dead of Canada's winter, the embers of last year's record-setting wildfire season remain. So-called zombie fires are burning under thick layers of snow at an unprecedented rate, raising fears about what the coming summer may bring.

People driving on the highway through the town of Fort Nelson, British Columbia (BC) in the winter can easily see - and smell - the clouds of white smoke flowing from the soil around them.

Sonja Leverkus, a firefighter and scientist who is local to the small north-eastern BC town, recalled driving during a snowstorm in November, but the snowfall didn't look white.

Rather, she said, it was blueish-grey because of the smoke in the air.

"I've never experienced a snowstorm that smelled like smoke," said Ms Leverkus, who has lived in northern BC for more than 15 years.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68228943

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