Officials in western Canada warned of "volatile wildfire activity," as dozens of blazes burn in dry conditions across the country, forcing thousands to evacuate and triggering air quality alerts in several U.S. states this week.
By the numbers: Most of the 134 blazes burning in the first major wildfires since Canada's record season that finally abated in October were in British Columbia (47) and Alberta (45) as of Tuesday evening, per the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
The Sun unleashed the largest flare of its current cycle on Tuesday, days after it generated a powerful solar storm that brought stunning auroras to Northern and Southern Hemisphere skies.
The big picture: "NOT DONE YET!" tweeted NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center as it issued an alert warning of potential disruptions to radio signals due to the X8.7 flare — the largest since 2017.
