Zombie fires have been smoldering under layers of snow in Canada as the remnants of last year’s massive wildfires remain in the area.
The zombie fires, or flameless, slow-burning fires that occur under the earth’s surface, have triggered fears that the thaw will bring another smog-filled summer to the US.
Firefighter and scientist Sonja Leverkus said that as she drove in a snowstorm in November in her small town in British Columbia, she noticed that instead of the snow being white, it was a blue-grey color from the smoke.
‘I’ve never experienced a snowstorm that smelled like smoke,’ Leverkus said.
Now, those fears could spark another wave of smog and haze down to the US like much of the East Coast experienced in the summer of 2023.
Zombie fires have continued to smolder under layers of snow in Canada and cannot be put out due to a lack of firefighters on break in the off-season. Now, there is fear they could impact the US again like they did during the summer
Over the summer, huge swaths of the US , from the north east to the Great Lakes, are braced for several more days of smog, while Canadian officials grappled with over 400 wildfires.
A thick, nicotine-yellow haze shrouded the famous Big Apple skyline on Wednesday as the city became the most polluted in the world, with its Air Quality Index score soaring past 400, which is deemed ‘hazardous.’
More than a dozen US states and over 100 million people are under air quality alerts, prompting many to start wearing pandemic-era masks.
Health experts warned that breathing the fog can be as damaging as smoking 22 cigarettes a day. Nanoparticles from the smog are so small they can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream, with side effects also including irritation to the eyes and throat as well as breathing problems.
‘The Canadian wildfires present a common exposure to almost all New Yorkers right now.’ Acting Health Commissioner James McDonald said at that time.
‘Our risk from this exposure is based on our own personal underlying health condition.
A man talks on his phone as he looks through the haze at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey on June 7
New York’s Yankee Stadium pictured under the hazy conditions ahead of a game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox, which has since been postponed due to poor air quality
The smoky yellow haze enveloped the city and lasted for days
An orange mist blanketed the entire city Wednesday as health officials warned against exposure to the pollution
Manhattanites were barely able to see the Statue of Liberty across the Hudson River due to the poor visibility
‘Those New Yorkers with underlying conditions such as lung or heart disease are at increased risk from this exposure and are encouraged to adjust their activities accordingly.’
A sheet of smoke from the wildfires first descended on New York on Tuesday before thickening throughout the afternoon and into Wednesday, leaving those in Manhattan unable to see the New Jersey skyline across the Hudson River.
As well as sending New Yorkers inside, air quality alerts were also introduced in states including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, Virginia and the Carolinas, according to the National Weather Service.
On one day during the smog, Chicago had also recorded the worst air quality in the world yesterday as it too was consumed by smoke from the fires. The city had been marked as having unhealthy air with a reading of 175 AQI, with parts of Michigan reaching higher.
The index is a measure of five common pollutants and runs on a scale from 0 to 500, with a rating over 150 considered ‘unhealthy.’
According to the index at the time, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit were all in the top ten for the worst air quality on the planet.
Washington, DC, was covered in the smog throughout Wednesday, and it is expected to continue to linger for several days
Hazy skies seen over the skyline in Washington, DC, one of many East Coast hubs to have been hit by the smoke
The Chicago skyline is blanketed in haze from Canadian wildfires as seen from Solidarity Drive amid heavy smog from the wildfires in Canada
Today in Canada, the plumes have remained visible in February, even as the temperatures drastically dropped. The fires cannot be put out manually due to a lack of firefighters on break in the off-season, according to Forrest Tower, a fire information officer with British Columbia Fire.
Zombie fires, also known as overwintering fires, are kept alive through peat moss, an organic soil that is commonly found in North America’s forests and thick layers of snow.
In the last ten years, British Columbia has experienced, on average, five to six zombie fires that have continued to burn on, the BBC reported.
By January, the Canadian province saw a record-setting 106 active zombie fires, something that scientists fear could impact the risk for future wildfires and have linked them to a possible early start in the wildfire season.
According to provincial data, though most of these overwintering fires tend to burn out on their own, a total of 91 are still burning in the area.
The data has gone on to suggest that the fires that manage to burn on into March could raise the chance for reignition once the temperatures rise and the snow melts.
Jennifer Baltzer, a biology professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Canada Research Chair in Forests and Global Change said that the pro-longed smoldering ‘is very alarming to see.’
More than 44million acres of land was consumed by the fires in 2023 and was one of the most fatal wildfire seasons, as multiple firefighters died while battling the blazes.
Burned trees were seen in social media posts from the wildfires in Canada
The wildfires spread across large portions of Canada and caused haze and smog in parts of the US
Combie fires, or flameless, are slow burning fires that occur under the earth’s surface, have triggered fears that the thaw will bring another smog-filled summer to the US
Mike Flannigan, a professor and fire management expert at Thompson River University said that the surge in wildfires last year is one of the reasons why the area is seeing an increase in zombie fires.
He added the extreme drought, something British Columbia has been dealing with for years, has also contributed to the zombie fires.
In February, British Columbia has been under medium to extreme drought level, according to the province’s drought map.
Similar to the overwintering fires, the presence of the drought has also been quite significant as Leverkus noted that a creek she saw last summer has become ‘just puddles.’
Another disturbing factor is that the area has also not seen very much snow or rain, giving more room for the smoky fires to ignite into flames.
Tower said that the zombie fires are currently being monitored by officials and if they advance, there is a chance that the wildfire season in the province could come as early as March or April.