Saskatchewan wildfires in Canada are expected to continue growing aggressively over the next few days due to high temperatures, winds and dry conditions.
According to the latest update from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) there seems to be no sign of relief.
"This will drastically impact our ability to contain some of these fires and will actually cause some of these fires to grow in size over the next period of time," Steve Roberts, SPSA vice-president of operations, said at a news conference Sunday.
Smoke from the wildfires covered most of the eastern and central United States on Monday and will linger through Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), according to AccuWeather meteorologists.
For those in the U.S., air quality is unlikely to impact public health due to smoke remaining high in the atmosphere. However, air quality remains poor to unhealthy in areas closer to the fire in northern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota.
"Shower and thunderstorms in the Upper Midwest this afternoon and evening will help cleanse the air and help improve air quality," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alexander Duffus said.
Around 17,000 residents have been evacuated and as of Sunday afternoon, 15 fires were burning. This is down from 17 as two fires merged and other small fires were contained.
Roberts said 20 communities were under evacuation orders as of 1 p.m. CST Sunday.
Manitoba declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as fires burned from the north-west to the south-east.
