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Articles on BC wildfires

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The Bald Mountain Wildfire in the Grande Prairie area in Alberta in May 2023. Much of B.C. and Alberta is already experiencing higher-than-usual wildfire risk. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Government of Alberta Fire Service

As we fight the Alberta and B.C. wildfires, we must also plan for future disasters

High-risk, high-uncertainty events like earthquakes tend to fall out of view when we are occupied with more predictable seasonal events like wildfires, which have very visible effects on our lives.
Climate marches, like this one in Glasgow during the COP26 climate conference in November 2021, can help people move from worry to action. AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

The climate crisis demands courage not optimism

Instead of asking about optimism, it’s time to ask what we as citizens are going to do about climate change.
Vehicles line up during a drive-through COVID-19 vaccine clinic at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ont., in early January 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

Until we address chronic underfunding, Canada will keep failing at emergency management

Canada’s emergency management system is poorly funded and lacks consistent attention between disasters. This chronic underfunding has undermined public confidence and trust in emergency management.
A fire burns in Squamish, B.C. on April 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Felix McEachran Mandatory Credit

How coronavirus could make a bad wildfire season even worse

Unstable funding, social distancing and the likelihood that other countries won’t be able to help — these all raise the potential of a nightmarish scenario.
A firefighter runs while trying to save a home near Lakeport, Calif. on July 31, 2018. AP Photo/Noah Berger, File

Fighting historic wildfires amid bad ideas and no funding

Canada’s boreal region faces bigger, hotter and more frequent wildfires that are increasingly unpredictable, but it lacks an investment in fire science that could help keep communities safe.
Fire burns the hillsides along Highway 129 near Lake Berryessa in Yolo County, California, on July 3, 2018. (Randall Benton/The Sacramento Bee via AP)

How to protect your children from wildfire smoke

And wildfires rage along the West Coast of North America, parents should know the impact on their children’s health, and how to protect them.
British Columbia Wildfire Service firefighters stand near a controlled burn to help prevent the Finlay Creek wildfire from spreading near Peachland, B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

How will Canada manage its wildfires in the future?

Record-breaking wildfires made headlines around the world in 2017. Fire intensity will increase in Canada in the future with climate change, but we can invest in tools to improve the outcome.
Wildfires may grow more frequent and intense in North America amid climate change, like the Fort McMurray blazes in 2016, which were among the worst in Canadian history. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

How wildfires could radically change forests — and your life

Wildfires amid climate change may spark a radical shift in forest habitats and wildlife. They aren’t just a destructive force of man and nature. They’re a key factor in forest ecosystem renewal.

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