Alberta on high alert for wildfire upsurge over scorching holiday weekend
Firefighters in Alberta are on high alert for a surge in blazes over a long weekend in the oil-rich Canadian province, which is enduring throttled energy production, home evacuations and property damage after an intense start to the wildfire season.
Record-high temperatures and lack of rain this year have led to widespread fires burning nearly 830,000 hectares (2 million acres) of land in Alberta, about 10 times the size of the province’s largest city, Calgary, according to Alberta Wildfire.
https://news.yahoo.com/alberta-high-alert-wildfire-upsurge-120823901.html
3,000 square miles. Sounds pretty big.
In perspective, this is about ONE FIFTH of the difference in area between Alberta and Texas. Texas is slightly larger by 13,000 square miles. (T=668,000, A=655,000)
While significant and somewhat worrisome, it’s not as dire as the press is trying to make it.