Central New Yorkers face another air quality warning today and many are wondering how long the Canadian wildfires could burn. Possibly until the winter, says Basil Seggos, commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Speaking at a virtual press conference on Monday, Seggos said 24 million acres of woodland have already burned up in Canada, where more than two dozen New York state Forest Rangers had been helping fight the blazes.
Seggos says they were in the Quebec Province and other parts of Canada, and that's not where you typically find DEC rangers in the summer.
"Usually, by the time July and August rolled around, we are in Western states," said Seggos. "Think about the big fires in the Pacific Northwest California, Alaska. It's a unique occurrence really to have now our third crew returning to New York from Canada."
Seggos notes New York State has avoided a potentially dangerous dry spell thanks to all the recent rain. However, he says officials are bracing for more fires like these in the region.
"What we're experiencing now, with our air quality, with the fires in Canada, is a result of a changing climate," said the DEC commissioner. "State provincial governments, national governments are fighting to catch up with the 'new normal," [which] seems to change week to week, month to month, year to year.’’
However, what won’t change too quickly, says Seggos, are the current wildfires. Rain is forecast this week in Quebec and other parts of Canada. But the blazes across such rugged terrain are extensive and Seggos and the forest rangers believe "only Mother Nature" will put them out later this year.
Until then, we should expect more air quality alerts in CNY.
