Canada

"'Extreme.' 'Unprecedented.' 'Historic.' Those are just a few of the words being used to describe the start of this year's fire season in North America."

The real problem from the hundreds of wildfires in Alaska and Canada is that they could speed up melting of the permafrost -- releasing a reservoir of carbon and speeding up climate change."

"The Canadian military has been called in to help fight wildfires in the Western province of Saskatchewan, where 112 active fires have forced the evacuation of more than 13,000 people and threatened several remote towns on Monday."

"VANCOUVER -- In the annals of climate change you can record another notable event. The Fraser River is running hotter and lower in the first week of July than it usually does in the dead of August."

"The Western Canadian province of Saskatchewan said on Sunday it was evacuating an additional 8,000 people from the far north of the province, as wildfires continue to spread and threaten homes."

"Alberta will be doubling its carbon levy over the next two years – the first change in the tax’s eight-year history – as the province works on broader measures to burnish its image as a responsible oil producer."

"Nearly two years after the Lac-Mégantic oil train explosion killed 47 people and levelled the small Quebec town, the federal government has laid new criminal charges."

"A lawyer for the defunct railroad at the center of the Lac-Megantic train derailment said Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is acting deplorably and offensively by attempting to shut down proceedings to distribute over $430 million to victims and creditors of the 2013 tragedy."

"Reports of oil spilling into Newfoundland's Port au Port Bay from old drilling sites is a growing concern for fishermen in the area."