Canadian wildfires have burned more than 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) this year, government data showed Saturday, a record that exceeded scientists' pessimistic predictions.
The previous highest on record occurred in 1989 when 7.3 million hectares burned for an entire year, according to national figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC).
The area burned this year, in just six and a half months, is roughly the size of Portugal or Iceland.
In total, 4,088 fires have broken out since January, including many that have burned hundreds of thousands of hectares.
More than 150,000 people have been displaced, and a 19-year-old firefighter died Thursday.
"We're dealing with immense areas," Colonel Philippe Sansa, who heads a detachment of French firefighters deployed in hard-hit northern Quebec, told AFP.
"The fire we're managing is 65 kilometers (40 miles) long, which poses enormous organizational challenges."
The majority of fires have occurred far from populated areas - but they can still have serious consequences for the environment.
As of Saturday, there were 906 active fires in the country, including 570 that are considered out of control -- with none county remaining.
Since the beginning of July, the situation has taken a dramatic turn in British Columbia, where more than 250 fires started in just three days last week, most of them caused by lightning.
Much of Canada is experiencing severe drought, with months of mediocre rain and warm temperatures.
Scientists say that the country is warming faster than the rest of the planet due to its geography, and it has faced extreme weather events that have increased in intensity and frequency due to climate change.
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