A water bomber above the Paddy's Pond wildfire, just outside St. John's, N.L.

Canada’s second-worst wildfire season on record has already burned 7.8 million hectares and could continue for weeks, federal government officials said Monday.

Warmer than usual weather forecast from now until the end of September for southern British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan creates a significant risk of new fires, since those areas remain very dry, they said.

Present fires have a “high likelihood” of being able to continue burning or smouldering “well into autumn” because of the higher-than-usual temperatures forecast, said Julienne Morissette of Natural Resources Canada.

Fires have also affected Atlantic provinces Newfoundland and Nova Scotia this year, due to unusual dryness. More than 60 per

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