Alberta calls an early start to wildfire season
As of Feb. 20th, wildfire season has officially begun in Alberta.
In response to the early call, which usually starts on March 1st of every year, Alberta Wildfire is looking to hire an additional 100 firefighters and split them into five 20-person crews to fight the blazes this year.
According to Alberta Wildfire, there are currently 54 active wildfires burning throughout the province, none of which are out-of-control. Out of the current fires, 52 have been burning since last year.
The average temperatures throughout the province have just been below zero for most of the winter. Most of the province has seen little to no snow and drier than normal conditions because of an El Niño, a weather phenomenon in the southern Pacific Ocean that has caused warmer-than-average temperatures for most of Canada and the Pacific Northwest, according to The Weather Network.
