Why are Canadian wildfires affecting Wisconsin air quality? GOP lawmakers demand answers while DNR crews help fight fires
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Melissa Scheuerman said people have been asking her the same question since she returned from a recent 14-day assignment helping to suppress a wildfire near Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Canada.
Scheuerman, a forestry technician with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said those efforts revolved around keeping flames from reaching the small town of about 600 people.
"They'll kind of steer the fires around the towns, protect the towns," she said. "And that's what we were trying to accomplish up there."
Lynn Lake is about 1,500 miles northwest of Milwaukee. The DNR said Friday six of its crew members are currently in Manitoba working to suppress the fires.
"I've been getting the question of, 'I thought you put the fires out,'" Scheuerman said. "But a lot of those fires are gonna be burning for quite some time."
The Wisconsin DNR says it currently has six crew members assisting with fire suppression efforts in Manitoba, Canada
The subject of Canadian wildfires has come up often in southeast Wisconsin this week, as the region has been shrouded in haze from the raging fires.
At one point Thursday, Milwaukee had some of the world's worst air quality. Some of the state's Republican lawmakers in Congress have publicly pressured Canada to do more to prevent the fires.
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), whose district includes the Northwoods, posted on the social media site X Thursday, "I have called on Canadian officials to get serious about proactive forest management."
Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), representing a swath of southeast Wisconsin south of Milwaukee, told reporters before a town hall Thursday in Elkhorn he also wanted answers from Canada. Steil stopped short of supporting sanctions of other punitive measures against the neighboring country.
"Canada definitely needs to engage and do their role," Steil said. "I wouldn't jump to conclusions about exactly how that conversation should play out or whether sanctions should be put in place, but I do believe that conversation with Canada as it relates to the continuing challenges of air quality in the state of Wisconsin and across the country is important."
DNR Wildfire Prevention Specialist Catherine Koele said one of the main factors in the intensity of Canadian wildfires this year and in 2023 is fire season starting earlier. With snow melting earlier than it typically has in the past, the conditions ripe for fires emerge earlier and more often.
"I definitely think that a contributing factor is the lack of significant snowpack that we have seen," Koele said. "We've seen it here in Wisconsin, and I'm gonna speculate there's probably some of the similar conditions up in Canada."
Reduced snow cover was cited as a key reason for the severity of wildfires across Canada in 2023, according to a 2024 report published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Koele added it's relatively difficult for Canada to prevent wildfires amid such dry conditions. While 98% of Wisconsin's wildfires are caused by people, about half of the wildfires in Canada are caused by lightning strikes.
According to the Canadian government, fires caused by lightning account for 85% of the land scorched during wildfires.
"The human cause element is something that we can control here in Wisconsin," Koele said. "And that's why it's important to prevent these fires."
Koele added preventative measures are also more challenging in the wide swaths of forest in Canada's northwest territories. When fires start there, it's difficult for crews to reach them, and if they aren't near any towns or homes, officials will allow the fire to burn.
"A lot of the fires that are producing this smoke are in dense, remote areas," Koele said. "These are fires that are typically left unmanaged. They're supervised, but they're not managed because there are no values at risk."
When dry conditions are around for longer, more of those fires can happen. However, even within the same state, circumstances on the ground can vary.
Koele said southern Wisconsin had an early fire season while Scheuerman said lots of precipitation meant conditions were less troublesome this spring in northeast Wisconsin, where she's stationed.
In much of Canada, however, Scheuerman noted there was concern over dry conditions.
"Their fire season this year started earlier than typical," Scheuerman said. "And they expected it to be worse."