After our time under the “heat dome” where our temperatures reached into the mid-to-high C40s, we have finally cooled down to the more usual, which is about low-to-mid 30s for this time of year.

After all that extreme heat and only very minimal precipitation, moisture conditions are dire and fires are developing everywhere. Currently, there are 180 fires in British Columbia, 12 of which are a potential threat to safety. Additionally, the smoke and heat from these fires are combining to create a separate weather system that has lead to huge vertical smoke clouds with their own lightening bolts and fire tornadoes.

One fire has already consumed the majority of a small town, Lytton, which became famous for breaking temperature records in Canada for three days in a row. Before 90% of it was destroyed late last week by a swiftly-moving fire, it recorded a temperature of 49.5°C (121°F).

There are no fires in our immediate vicinity, but there is smoke.

I hope that we get some rain soon and the firefighters are able to get these fires under control, but this will likely be just a temporary fix. Climate scientists have indicated that we should start expecting much more of this in the seasons to come.