Manitoba has been posting "air quality" alerts throughout the summer due to many ongoing wildfires burning throughout the province. A trip to the beach was called off when the extent of the poor air quality hung heavy all around us. This view would typically have been a bright sky and a forest of dark, green trees lining the horizon. Due to the heavy smoke the sky was dull, and the horizon was virtually invisible. As we drove home our thoughts were with the people who lived in the areas of the fires, and also with the many firefighters and volunteers who worked tirelessly to control and put the fires out.