Mapping more than 60 years of wildfires in Alberta

Two months are left in Alberta's 2024 wildfire season that, like years past, filled many communities with a lot of smoke and forced people from multiple communities to flee their homes.

This year, a monster wildfire even destroyed one third of all buildings in Jasper, Alta., in late July.

Dozens of wildfires are still burning in Alberta heading into the Labour Day weekend, but only one was out of control as 12:30 p.m. MT Friday, according to the Alberta Wildfire status dashboard.

Data about each individual fire this year, such as where it started and how much area it burned, is not publicly available yet. But fire officials and climate researchers have repeated that climate change is contributing to environment and weather conditions, such as hotter temperatures, drought and lightning, that could fuel more intense wildfires and longer wildfire seasons.

CBC News compiled more than 60 years' worth of historical wildfire data, publicly released by the Alberta government, and mapped out where wildfires started each year and how much the flames burned.