# 2023 Wildfire Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 19, 2023, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272 "2023-05-19T13:36:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/21 "2023-06-07T22:21:53Z")
Forecasts for major eastern Canadian cities shows rain for the next 7 days or so-will that help to put a lot of these out? ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/22 "2023-06-08T23:42:13Z")
Today, in Minneapolis, we finally had sunshine and blue skies in the morning and only a light haze of ash in the afternoon. My eyes are still bothered but they don’t outright hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/23 "2023-06-16T02:02:59Z")
Sounds like a major improvement. This fire’s about 51 miles from me (I’m in Sacramento). > **[More evacuation orders issued for wildfire in Yuba County](https://www.kcra.com/article/yuba-county-scott-fire-loma-rica-evacuations/44215157)** > > A wildfire in Yuba County prompted evacuation orders for people who live nearby, according to the county's Office of Emergency Services. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/24 "2023-06-17T00:30:47Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Sounds like a major improvement. It was a major improvement, but it didn’t last. We had our worst air quality day ever this past Wednesday. You could smell the ozone, exhaust, and smoke. Now that has cleared up quite a bit but it was still hazy today. The air quality warning was removed this morning. But my eyes still smart. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/25 "2023-08-16T03:05:02Z")
Activity in northern California. > **[Evacuation orders issued for Northern California fire in Siskiyou County](https://www.kcra.com/article/head-fire-siskiyou-county-evacuation-orders/44823855)** > > A wildfire along the northernmost part of California has prompted evacuation orders, officials said. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/26 "2023-08-18T03:23:34Z")
And now Yellowknife, the capital city of Canada’s Northwest Territory, [has been ordered evacuated](https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/americas/canada-northwest-territories-wildfires-thursday/index.html) as wildfires threaten to engulf it. Yes, the whole city, all its residents, must flee. > Hundreds of wildfires burning in [Canada’s Northwest Territories](http://www.cnn.com/2023/08/14/weather/heat-warning-washington-oregon-british-columbia-climate/index.html) have prompted emergency declarations and the evacuation of the capital city of Yellowknife by road and air. > > About [20,000 residents](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0&DGUIDlist=2021A00056106023&SearchText=yellowknife) in Yellowknife are being urged to get out of the way of fast-moving flames as more than [230 fires](https://www.gov.nt.ca/ecc/en/services/wildfire-update) char the territory and smoke creeps south, impacting air quality in the United States. Yellowknife accounts for about half of the [total population](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Northwest%20Territories&DGUIDlist=2021A000261&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0) of the remote territory, which sits north of Alberta and east of Yukon. > > One of the wildfires burning west of Yellowknife is approximately 165,000 hectares, more than 600 square miles, and inching closer to the community and main highway, according to Mike Gibbins, who manages communications for Municipal Affairs Minister Shane Thompson’s office. Much more detail about that province’s state of emergency, as well as the potential for catastrophic damage from wildfires raging in British Columbia: > There are over 360 active fires burning in neighboring British Columbia, where officials expect fire conditions to worsen as heat and lightning are forecast to combine over the next few days. > > Chapman warned that high pressure has led to record-breaking heat and that lightning is being forecast, which he said has been the “primary ignition source for new fires.” > > The high-pressure air also causes dry winds, which contribute to extreme fire behavior, according to[the BC Wildfire Service.](https://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo/status/1691882800146952573) These weather conditions exacerbate low fuel moisture in dead vegetation, which allows fires to start easily and spread rapidly. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/27 "2023-08-19T17:59:18Z")
And another cluster of lightening fires west of there has closed US199, the main highway connecting Southern Oregon with the coast. We headed from Ashland over to Brookings a few days ago to escape a heat wave. With the highway closed behind us, we’re looking at an extra two hours to drive home the long way. Plus, the air quality in the Rogue Valley has reached the “Hazardous” level at times. And here we were thinking we might get off easy this summer… ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/28 "2023-08-19T22:05:10Z")
Traffic exiting Kelowna BC was clogging the roads yesterday as people packed up and headed for Vancouver. That is yet another fast-moving fire. It’s been very dry there. We’ve had strong winds and have been in drought all summer in most of Minnesota. I’m worried about the possibility of fire here too. And that’s rare. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/29 "2023-08-19T23:31:52Z")
Let’s hope you don’t see a repeat of the [Great Hinckley Fire of 1894.](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/history/hinckley-fire.html) ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272/30 "2023-08-21T12:49:08Z")
There are a couple wildfires near me that have burned up two small towns, Medical Lake, and Elk, WA. The town of Malden, WA burned up a couple years ago. I expect this very sad trend to continue. > **[Second fatality reported as Medical Lake, Elk wildfires grow overnight, crews...](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/aug/20/medical-lake-elk-wildfires-grow-slightly-overnight/)** > > The Gray fire that burned hundreds of homes and buildings in Medical Lake and the surrounding area Friday has grown to 10,014 acres and is considered 10% contained. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-wildfire-thread/984272.md?page=1)