A quick update: it's officially the worst fire season on record in BC.

The scale is hard to grasp: some 900,000 hectares (3,400 square miles) have burned so far.

A story here about 19 individual fires merging into one mega-fire:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/largest-wildfire-1.4257021

While a good number of mandatory evacuations have been lifted, people are still on evacuation alert over a vast area. These are rather sparsely populated compared to urban areas, but the economic impact is severe. So is the wider impact of the smoke, both on human health and on the important tourist industry.

Pray (to the gods/fates of your choice) for rain.