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Articles on Wildfires

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Many of the people caught in the wildfire that swept through Paradise, Calif., in 2018 were older adults. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Wildfire risk is soaring for low-income, elderly and other vulnerable populations in California, Washington and Oregon

Alarmingly, about half the people exposed to wildfires in Washington and Oregon were those least able to afford to protect their homes, evacuate safely and recover.
NASA International Space Station program

Our planet is burning in unexpected ways - here’s how we can protect people and nature

We used satellite data to create global maps of where and how fires are burning. Fire season lasts two weeks longer than it used to and fires are more intense. But there are regional differences.
The costs of climate change are clear with the flood devastation in Lybia simply being the latest grim example. What is also clear is that traditional policymaking has failed and climate assemblies may provide a novel and more equitable path forward. (AP Photo/Jamal Alkomaty)

How climate assemblies can help Canada tackle the climate crisis

Climate assemblies may just provide the breakthrough required to develop popular, just and sustainable climate and energy policies.
Thick wildfire smoke blankets the landscape near Water Valley, Alta., in May 2023. Evidence linking wildfire smoke with adverse health effects has been accumulating for years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Wildfire smoke is an increasing threat to Canadians’ health

The notion that wildfire smoke is ‘natural,’ and therefore less harmful than other types of air pollution, is not supported by the evidence. Wildfire smoke has been linked to adverse health effects.
People without vehicles line up in Yellowknife to register for a flight to Alberta; residents were ordered to evacuate the area because of encroaching wildfire. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden

Yellowknife fires: Evacuees will need culturally specific support services

As the mass evacuation of Yellowknife unfolds, the needs of minority populations will emerge. Past experiences indicate emergency officials may not be ready to meet the needs of a diverse population.
The fossil deposits at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles have well-preserved remains of many prehistoric animals that got stuck in natural asphalt seeps over the past 60,000 years. Cullen Townsend, courtesy of NHMLAC

A changing climate, growing human populations and widespread fires contributed to the last major extinction event − can we prevent another?

New findings from the La Brea Tar Pits in southern California suggest human-caused wildfires in the region, along with a warming climate, led to the loss of most of the area’s large mammals.

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