BBC
By Nadine Yousif
February 17, 2024
Even in the dead of Canada’s winter, the embers of last year’s record-setting wildfire season remain. So-called zombie fires are burning under thick layers of snow at an unprecedented rate, raising fears about what the coming summer may bring.
People driving on the highway through the town of Fort Nelson, British Columbia (BC) in the winter can easily see – and smell – the clouds of white smoke flowing from the soil around them.
Sonja Leverkus, a firefighter and scientist who is local to the small north-eastern BC town, recalled driving during a snowstorm in November, but the snowfall didn’t look white.