More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Wildfires have burned more than2 million hectares of land across Canada so far this year, during what has been one of the earliest fire seasons on record.
According to the National Wildland Fire Situation Report, the fires in Yukon, B.C. Alberta, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are among the nearly 1,600 recorded so far this year.
Experts use the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System to identify where in Canada people should take precautions.
"Forest fire danger is ageneral term used to express a variety of factors in the fire environment, such as ease of ignition and difficulty of control," the government's website reads.
Many parts of Canada are blanketed in red or yellow, indicating a high degree of fire risk, according to the Natural Resources of Canada interactive fire risk map.
The above graph was made using data from current and archived reports from Natural Resources Canada. Data was available from May to November for some of the entries and May to October for others. (Natasha O'Neill/ CTVNews.ca)
With dry and sunny weather across the country, the risk of new fires is spreading, including in Northern Ontario and in Nova Scotia, where some Halifax-area residents are among the evacuees due to anout-of-control fire burning near Upper Tantallon.
In Alberta, where a brief period of cool, wet weather brought temporary respite, conditions changed over the weekend and fires threatened northern communities.
Parts of the Prairies have a heightened fire risk, and there are other parts of Canada that have been labelled as having an "extreme" risk of forest fires.
The highest risk of wildfires is labelled as "extreme," a category that includes a fast-spreading, high-intensity fire that does not respond to suppression tactics from fire crews.
Portions of B.C., Alberta and northern Saskatchewan are under these conditions. Much of Northern Ontario and part of Southwestern Ontario are also under extreme wildfire warnings.
As of May 29, the risk of fires starting is lower in portions of Yukon, Northwest Territories, the area around Regina, most of Manitoba and northern Quebec, the Natural Resources of Canada map shows. This means any fires sparked are "likely to be self-extinguishing" and new ignitions are unlikely, the government website reads.
Despite some areas being labelled low-risk, in the Northwest Territories, for example, there are still out-of-control wildfires burning.
The term "moderate risk" describes areas where fire crews can "easily" contain fires with pumps of hand tools. These areas can often be seen as the buffer between low- and higher-risk forest fire areas. Currently, communities like Lac Mistassini and Lac Manouanis in northern Quebec have a moderate fire risk.
High-risk fire warnings are used in areas that would be difficult for crews to battle and where flames could spread quickly, such as in dense, old-growth forests. Large equipment would be needed, like bulldozers, tanker trucks and aircraft to transport water, to fight any fires that broke out.
As of May 29, communities in B.C., Alberta and most of Ontario are in the high-risk classification.
Area around Carnaby, Red Rose and Boulder City, B.C., are in this category, as well as communities outside of Edmonton including Drayton Valley, Barrhead and Fort Saskatchewan.
Communities in Ontario with a high risk of fires include Fort Albany, Timmins, Barrie and towards Lake Ontario in Oshawa and Belleville.
A separate "very high" risk classification is for areas with conditions beyond the abilities of ground crews, with needed air attacks of fire retardant. Communities around Calgary and in Yellowknife are in this category, with officials warning fires could spread out of control.
The above map from Natural Resources Canada uses data from government agencies and may not show the current fire situation. (Screenshot)
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.