Research group tracks movement of forest fire smoke

By Martha Dillman
CBC News
July 11, 2019
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada

Forest fires burning in northern Ontario are prompting heavy smoke throughout the region. Some communities have had special air quality statements issued by Environment Canada. Now, you can see how the smoke is moving and where it is expected to move next. Fire Smoke Canada is posting the information on its website.  Christopher Rodell, a research assistant at UBC says they get their data from a NASA satellite. “We get heat signatures from that and these heat signatures determine how smoke will rise based off of numerical weather prediction models we have created,” he said. “It’s an ongoing research project. We are trying to emulate how smoke plumes, a byproduct of wildfires disperses across North America.”

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