Experts say a combination of intense heat and drought conditions is causing wildfires in Western provinces to generate their own weather systems.
A meteorologist with the United States Naval Research Laboratory says hot, dry and windy conditions create a triple threat for what experts call fire weather.
Michael Fromm says the Village of Lytton — which was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire on June 30th — saw two straight days of the phenomenon known as a pyro-cumulonimbus firestorm late last month.
U-B-C climate scientist Simon Donner says a dangerous element is that the storms generate lightning — which in turn cause more fires.
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