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Canada wildfires rage on even as Michigan skies clear

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Two wildfires pictured here, the Long Loch wildfire and the Derickson Lake wildfire, are in close proximity and estimated to be 740 acres combined in size.

Skies have cleared across Michigan, after smoke from wildfires in Canada brought record air pollution.

That doesn't mean the fires have stopped. Dozens of fires are ongoing in British Columbia, Alberta, Western Ontario, and Quebec.

Chris Stockdale is a fire research scientist with Natural Resources Canada. He says these fires are hard to fight in conventional ways.

"When the fires ignite, the control measures are very limited, but the intensity of these fires is such that direct attack — like from humans on the ground — is impossible. It's way too hot. People can't get within hundreds of meters of these things, I mean the heat exposure would be fatal," he says.

Changing weather patterns are now pushing the smoke toward Minnesota, with the Twin Cities getting record smog.

So far, fires in Canada have burned around 20,000 square miles — roughly twice the yearly average.

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Russ McNamara is a reporter and host of All Things Considered for 101.9 WDET, presenting local news to the station’s loyal listeners.