Why Soil Carbon Is the Real Fuel Behind Canada’s Wildfires

A new study says most carbon from Canada’s record 2023 wildfires came from underground forest soils and peat, not mainly from trees.

That helps explain why the fires burned so intensely and kept sending heavy smoke into the U.S., including New York and Chicago.

Researchers say climate-driven drying of carbon-rich boreal soils is making wildfires harder to control and more persistent.

The finding shifts attention from tree-focused wildfire management to the role of soil carbon, peat, and thawing permafrost.