Wildfires in Alberta have gotten off to an immensely faster start than in previous years.

Wildfires in Alberta have burned more than 150 times more area than in the last five years combined at this same point in the year. With more than 410,000 hectares (about 1 million acres) charred so far in 2023, the extent of the burned area is larger than the country of Luxembourg and is roughly equivalent to the size of 1.5 Rhode Islands. With temperatures expected to rise significantly by this weekend and into next week, a provincial state of emergency has been declared as weather conditions threaten to aid in fire growth and worsen the situation. Temperatures will range between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius above average (18 to 27 degrees Fahrenheit) leading into the weekend, with the peak of the heat expected early next week. Edmonton's average high temperature is 17°C (62°F) for the month of May, but has already experienced two 30°C (86°F) days.

The forecast calls for temperatures to exceed 30°C by early next week. Billowing smoke from the over 80 active wildfires across the Alberta province has drifted across Canada and has reached the eastern seaboard of the United States, creating smoky skies across New England. Forecasts indicate that smoke will continue to drift across Canada throughout the weekend, impacting the quality of air, while a shift in winds to the north and west will disperse the smoke towards British Columbia and the Northwest Territories through Saturday. Even though lightning was a factor in the recent uptick of wildfires across Alberta, many of the wildfires so far this season have been human caused, such as sparks created by trains or people being careless where they throw their cigarettes butts.