File:Fires and smoke in northwestern Canada (MODIS 2017-07-13).jpg

English: Thick smoke blanketed northwest Canada in early July 2017. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a true-color image of the smoke-filled skies on July 10.

The smoke hangs over parts of Yukon Territory, Northern Territories, and Nunavut, Canada and swirls over the Beaufort Sea and the Amundsen Gulf. Clouds frame the gray smoke in both the northwest and the south. The H-shaped body of water which can be seen through the veil is the Great Bear Lake in Northern Territories. The U.S. Air Quality Smog Blog, published by the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) reported that the smoke from fires in Alaska, Yukon Territory, and Northwest Territories covered most of western Canada and much of the northern tier of the United States. Air quality as far south as Chicago, Illinois was affected by the smoke on July 10.

Also on July 10, the Northwest Territories Fire (NWT) reported that the total number of fires in 2017 had reached 67, with 24,815 hectares burned. At that time, forty-six (46) had been declared out, 20 were burning out of control, and one was still burning, but under control. By July 12, an update report stated that the total number was up to 85 and affected acreage had reached about 82,277 hectares. Thirty-six fires remained out of control. Ten of the new fires were burning in the Sahtu Region and were only being monitored, not fought, as they did not pose a threat to communities, property, or lives.