Canada wildfires force Wisconsin to issue air quality warning

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As Canada's west coast is being gripped by raging wildfires, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in the US has issued an air quality advisory for most of the state.

Alberta, Canada, declared a state of emergency last week after 103 wildfires raged throughout the province, forcing 25,000 people to abandon their homes in an "unprecedented" catastrophe, according to a top official.

Read next: World must brace for 30% more wildfires by 2050: UN

Little Red River Cree Nation was one of the worst-hit areas where the 1,458-hectare Fox Lake fire burned 20 homes and the area's police station.

The 7,000-people population of Drayton Valley, west of Edmonton, was ordered to evacuate two weeks ago. 

348 wildfires have occurred in Alberta so far this year - burning more than 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres), according to Christie Tucker, an information unit manager for Alberta Wildfire.

British Columbia witnessed rivers burst their banks and highways overloaded with closures due to the rapid snow melt in communities such as Cache Creek and Grand Forks.

This follows a rapid increase in high temperatures after a cold spring, recording 10-15 degrees Celsius above the average for early May.

The advisory will go into effect at midnight Thursday and will be in force through Friday.

The alert goes beyond Wisconsin's northern districts, which have already seen hazy air in recent days. It currently includes the state's southwest, south-central, and eastern regions, as well as Milwaukee. There is also a chance that the regions in the west will be affected when the northern air moves southward.

The US National Weather Service expects that wildfire smoke from Canada will begin flowing into southern and eastern Wisconsin after midnight, traveling from northwest to southeast.

Particulate matter concentrations are predicted to climb significantly, and then gradually drop when cleaner air enters the region.

In light of the continuous threat to oil sands areas, which produce around 2.7 million barrels per day, as well as the threat to gas production sites, key parties have agreed to curtail output by at least 240,000 barrels of oil per day according to US media, citing energy consultancy company Rystad Energy.

Ottawa Public Safety Secretary Bill Blair called the situation in Alberta "worrying and dangerous."

According to media estimates, 2,500 firemen from throughout Canada and 400 military members have been dispatched to Alberta to combat the wildfire, but there are already 27 out-of-control flames.

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