People driving on the highway through the town of Fort Nelson, British Columbia (BC) in the winter can easily see - and smell - the clouds of white smoke flowing from the soil around them.

Sonja Leverkus, a firefighter and scientist who is local to the small north-eastern BC town, recalled driving during a snowstorm in November, but the snowfall didn’t look white.

Rather, she said, it was blueish-grey because of the smoke in the air.

(Forrest Tower, a fire information officer with BC Fire) said that many of them cannot be put out manually as most of the province’s firefighting force is on break for the off-season. They do not pose a risk yet, he said.

But the main concern is the fires could ignite again if BC continues to see very little snow or rain into the spring.