Wildfires 'off the charts' in Canada as temperatures climb

"The numbers are literally off the charts, with at least three more months left in the active wildfire season," said Michael Norton of the Canadian Ministry of Natural Resources.

And weather forecasts for the coming weeks predict above-average temperatures in many parts of the country in the west, and also in northern Quebec, the worst-hit region.

With nine million hectares (22.2 million acres) already gone up in smoke -- 11 times the average for the last decade -- the absolute annual record set in 1989 has been surpassed.