Montreal doctors' breakthrough discovery about causes of cerebral palsy giving hope
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of cerebral palsy is giving new hope to one West Island family.
As wildfires rage throughout parts of Canada, one fire in particular is highlighting concerns about so-called "zombie fires."
Authorities in the Northwest Territories are monitoring a large fire that has flared up after remaining dormant underground during the winter months.
Fires that persist through the winter in Canada were once considered a rare phenomenon, but experts warn these events are becoming more common as temperatures get warmer and less snow falls.
According to the BC Wildfire Service, a "zombie fire" – more commonly known as an overwintering fire or a holdover fire – occurs when a wildfire that burned deep underground in the previous year has continued to smoulder all winter long.
The agency warns these "residual hot spots" can re-emerge with the onset of warmer, dry weather in the spring.
Jennifer Baltzer, an associate professor of biology at Wilfrid Laurier University and Canada Research Chair in forests and global change, told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview on Monday "zombie fires" smouldering in the biomass, such as the roots and bowls of trees or in peat soils, of the affected landscape.
Such phenomena can cause wildfire season to begin sooner than expected and last longer, she said. Baltzer added that overwintering fires also have the potential to cause much larger changes and carbon losses in the ecosystem than an ordinary wildfire.
"A single-season fire burns through the season and then ends, whereas a smoldering fire continues to combust wood and peat soils throughout the winter -- very, very slowly -- but we continue to see combustion throughout the winter," Baltzer said.
According to a 2021 study, overwintering fires generally accounted for a small amount (about one per cent) of the total burned area in the Northwest Territories and Alaska between 2022 and 2018.
However, researchers out of the University Amsterdam and the University of Alaska Fairbanks found there was a "surprising" increase in the number of overwintering fires reported in individual years.
In Alaska, for example, overwintering fires accounted for 38 per cent of the burned landscape during the 2008 wildfire season, according to the study.
Experts suggest "zombie fires" could become more common due to climate change, as hot, dry conditions associated with heavy fire years can lead this deep burning of carbon-rich biomass.
A study published in 2019 found increasing summer temperatures associated with climate warming may promote the survival of overwintering fires in the future, threatening boreal regions including the sub-Arctic, Arctic, Northwest Territories and the northern areas in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Baltzer, who is leading a team of researchers in collecting field data on "zombie fires" in the Northwest Territories, hopes to further analyze how these fires affect carbon loss and forest regeneration in Canada.
Baltzer explained shrubs that recover quickly from wildfires can do this because of underground plant systems. However, "zombie fires" damage these systems as well as seed beds for trees, which "inhibit reproduction and recolonization of these sites" post-fire, she said.
"This is a concern is because of the changing fire activity in Boreal forests," Baltzer said. "High latitude systems are warming at about three to four times the rate of the planet… And this really rapid warming is causing these systems to be more flammable… [resulting in] larger areas burned, more severe fires and more frequent fires."
Baltzer said overwintering fires are "inherently linked with climate change," as they become more prevalent following years that see increased wildfire activity, which is steadily rising amid global warming.
With this in mind, Baltzer said preventing "zombie fires" will require a reduction of fossil fuel emissions to slow the overall production of greenhouse gases driving global warming.
While Baltzer acknowledges this requires a global effort and is beyond the scope of her research team, she says they are working to provide fire managers with information to support an enhanced understanding of where "zombie fires" are in Canada to help inform the understanding of the behaviour of theses fires and how to respond.
See the map showing wildfires burning across North America, provided by ESRI Canada, full screen
With files from The Canadian Press
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of cerebral palsy is giving new hope to one West Island family.
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Austin Hunter Turner died in 2017, on a night that his mother has rewound and replayed again and again, trying to make sense of what happened.
Not getting enough sleep may cause you to feel five to 10 years older than you really are, according to two new studies.
The Upper Ottawa Valley Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police says one person is facing multiple charges after a traffic complaint on Highway 17 in Head Clara Maria Township.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The estate of minimalist contemporary artist Donald Judd filed a lawsuit against Kardashian this week, claiming the fashion and beauty mogul promoted 'cheap knockoffs' of his furniture designs.
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.