Viewed from space, the Fort McMurray wildfire looks like an explosion
The raging Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta has been so severe that it has given rise to a towering cloud known as a "pyrocumulus."
Such clouds occur when intense fires vault soot and other particles high into the atmosphere, to altitudes normally reached by massive thunderstorms.
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Such clouds help fires such as this one spread smoke hundreds of miles downwind, and indeed the National Weather Service is warning of smoke-related hazards moving toward the Upper Midwest during the next few days.
The wildfire has caused the evacuation of at least 80,000 people in and around Fort McMurray, making it the largest fire-related evacuation in Alberta history.
According to public officials, at least 1,800 structures have been damaged or destroyed as of Wednesday at midday.
The fire exploded in size on May 3 as record heat and strong winds created extreme fire weather conditions. This, combined with months of below average precipitation, led to dry vegetation and soils that were susceptible to burning.
In addition, long-term trends associated with human-caused global warming include earlier spring snow melt and later starts to the winter season, which is lengthening wildfire seasons from Alaska to Alberta, and south to New Mexico.
Fire weather conditions were challenging for firefighters again on Wednesday, with high temperatures once again near 30 degrees Celsius, or 90 degrees Fahrenheit, along with strong winds.
Andrew Freedman is Mashable's Senior Editor for Science and Special Projects. Prior to working at Mashable, Freedman was a Senior Science writer for Climate Central. He has also worked as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Greenwire/E&E Daily. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, online at The Weather Channel, and washingtonpost.com, where he wrote a weekly climate science column for the "Capital Weather Gang" blog. He has provided commentary on climate science and policy for Sky News, CBC Radio, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sirius XM Radio, PBS NewsHour, and other national and international outlets. He holds a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
