Fire crews across much of Canada are already on high alert for the coming wildfire season, only months after the conclusion of the worst season on record. Quebec’s fire monitoring agency, SOPFEU, issued a warning for some parts of the province last week, the earliest in its history. …Alberta also declared last month that its wildfire season had started, 10 days early, and B.C. issued a notice saying it was monitoring holdover fires from last year. …The warnings about the upcoming season come as researchers take stock of last year’s historic wildfires, and analyze what can be done differently. Although the number of fires wasn’t unusual compared to other years, their average size was far larger. …Marc-André Parisien, an Edmonton-based research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, is among the authors of a new study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, called “Canada Under Fire – Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season.”