Firefighters in western Canada are battling the first major wildfires of 2024 after unseasonably warm temperatures and an ongoing drought left forests tinder-dry. Wildfire season in Canada typically runs from April, when the snow melts, until September or October when cooler temperatures and increased precipitation helps dampen fire activity. Provincial wildfire agencies also recorded scores of so-called “zombie fires” that ignited last summer and smoldered throughout the winter. …There nearly 120 wildfires currently burning across Canada, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, mostly in B.C. and Alberta. …Both western provinces have widespread fire restrictions, limiting when and where people can light campfires and bonfires. …2023 was Canada’s worst ever wildfire season when 18.5 million hectares burned and blazes raged simultaneously in the east and west of the country. …The federal government last month said Canada faces another potentially catastrophic wildfire season as it forecast higher-than-normal spring and summer temperatures across much of the country.