Over the weekend smoke from wildfires in North America travelled across the British Isles allowing for scenic sunsets and sunrises to be seen.

Members of The Argus Camera Club captured some of those dramatic scenes across the Sussex coast.

The wildfires are largely in Canada and have travelled over thousands of miles through split jet streams.

On July 25, in the Canadian Rockies town of Jasper in Alberta, flames had reached nearly 100 metres and spread three miles in less than 30 minutes. The wildfire had prompted 25,000 residents and visitors to flee from the town.

California in the US is another area dealing with large-scale wildfires. The Park Fire has scorched more than 660 square miles since erupting July 24 near the Sacramento Valley city of Chico.

The largest wildfire currently is Oregon’s Durkee Fire which has burned almost 270,000 acres of land. It has killed hundreds of cattle and is threatening to engulf many small towns near the area.

 

Fires in Canada in the last year have led to more than 230,000 evacuations and eight firefighters dying, this is according to recent reports from The State of Wildfire report.

(Image: Richard W. Symonds - The Argus Camera Club)

This is the first edition of a new systematic annual review and the report which will be published annually. It is being co-led by the University of East Anglia, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Met Office and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Dr Matthew Jones research fellow at the Tyndall Centre for climate change research at University of East Anglia said: “Wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense as the climate warms, and both society and the environment are suffering from the consequences.” 

“Last year, we saw wildfires killing people, destroying properties and infrastructure, causing mass evacuations, threatening livelihoods, and damaging vital ecosystems.”