Remember the watery eyes, inflamed lungs and the apocalyptic orange skies of last summer?
The smoke that descended over swaths of the U.S. was primarily caused by distant wildfires in Canada – and those fires are back. So will the U.S. have a repeat of the smoky, unhealthy skies?
Top Canadian fire experts offered mixed answers for 2024: "It is extremely unlikely that the 2024 fire season will be as extreme as 2023, as 2023 was a record-smashing year," Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told USA TODAY.
However, he said there is an existing drought across Canada and forecasts call for a warmer-than-normal summer, so "these factors suggest the potential for an active fire season."