Stumpy, Soot-Stained foundations of homes, charred fir trees that crumble when touched and the skeletons of petrol stations offer mute testimony to the ferocity of the wildfire that roared through the hamlet of Scotch Creek last year. The smoke from it and myriad other Canadian fires reached Baltimore, Barcelona, Berlin and beyond.

房屋的地基被烟灰熏黑， 烧焦的冷杉树一碰就碎，加油站的骨架无声地证明了去年席卷苏格兰溪村庄的野火的凶猛性。它和其它无数加拿大火灾所产生的烟雾蔓延到巴尔的摩、巴塞罗那、柏林等地。



Wildfires scorched 185,000 square km (71,000 square miles) of Canada in 2023, an area bigger than Florida. The resulting pall forced millions indoors during the height of summer. The fires also pumped 1,800 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere, dwarfing Canada's total emissions in 2022 of 708 megatonnes. Locals called the blazes Frankenstein fires "that crawl or sprint along like some diabolical monster". "The fires defy models," says John MacLean, chief administrative officer of nearby Columbia Shuswap District. "They are alien to experience."

2023年，野火烧毁了加拿大185000平方公里（71000平方英里）的土地，比佛罗里达州的面积还大。由此产生的阴云迫使数百万人盛夏期间呆在室内。火灾还向大气中排放了1800兆吨二氧化碳当量，使加拿大2022年708兆吨的总排放量相形见绌。当地人称弗兰肯斯坦燃烧的大火“像恶魔一样爬行或冲刺”。附近哥伦比亚舒斯瓦普区的首席行政官约翰·麦克莱恩说：“大火非同寻常。” “从没有过这样的经历。"

This year's fire season is already ramping up. On May 14th a blaze raging over 200 square km forced 6,600 residents of Fort McMurray, in north-eastern Alberta, to flee. Oil drillers were on alert, too. The province's tar sands—one of the most polluting sources of oil in the world—produce 3.3m barrels per day (b/d) of crude, equivalent to just over 3% of the global supply. In 2016 a hellish wildfire forced 1m b/d of production offline. Rystad Energy, a consultancy, warns that the worst-case scenario this time could put more than 2m b/d at risk by threatening pits, people and pipelines. Residents have since been allowed to return, and fortuitous rains have curbed the spread of the fire.

今年的火灾季节已经在加剧。5月14日，艾伯塔省东北部麦克默里堡200平方公里的大火迫使6，600名居民逃离。石油钻探者也处于戒备状态。该省的焦油砂是世界上污染最严重的石油来源之一，每天生产330万桶原油， 相当于全球供应量的3%多一点。2016年，一场地狱般的野火迫使每天100万桶的生产下线。咨询公司Rystad Energy警告称，这次最坏的情况可能会威胁矿井、人员和管道，使每天超过200万桶的产量面临风险。此后，居民被允许返回，偶然的降雨遏制了火势的蔓延。