wildfire management
Newsletter
Credit: Mike Newbry/Unsplash
New perspectives on wildfire management from recent Canadian wildfires
As wildfires grow fiercer and more unpredictable across Canada, officials and communities are urgently revising their emergency response strategies to adapt to this escalating threat.
In short:
- Officials in Yellowknife learned valuable lessons from the rapid spread of the SS052 fire, which destroyed the town of Enterprise, N.W.T., demonstrating the ferocity of new wildfire patterns.
- Evacuations are increasingly seen as essential, as traditional firefighting methods reach their limits in mitigating the spread and impact of severe wildfires.
- Communication and preparedness are pivotal, with improvements needed in public information systems to ensure timely updates during emergencies.
Key quote:
"We are seeing a very clear trend and events like these are happening more frequently. They’re bigger in nature, and they’re lasting longer than they ever have before."
— Coby Duerr, commander of Canada Task Force 2
Why this matters:
In the face of increasing and more intense wildfires, communities see the need to invest in robust evacuation plans that are regularly updated and communicated effectively to residents. This includes identifying evacuation routes, establishing evacuation centers, and ensuring that vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and those with disabilities, have the support they need to evacuate safely.
Even when we cannot keep our infrastructure standing, we can stop people dying, we can protect our most valuable possessions, and we can learn to deal with devastation.
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Credit: Malachi Brooks/Unsplash
Wildfires prompt a shift in firefighting strategies across the US
As wildfires in the U.S. grow in size and complexity, officials pivot to a new management model, marking a significant shift in strategy.
In short:
- More than 2,669 square miles have burned in the U.S. in early 2024, indicating a potentially prolonged and severe wildfire season.
- A shortage of specialized firefighting teams has led to the formation of 44 leadership teams to manage the nation's largest fires.
- Federal agencies aim to hire around 11,300 firefighters this year to combat the increasing wildfire threats and fill crucial vacancies.
Key quote:
"We're going to be busy. I couldn't tell you exactly where right now, but we are going to be busy."
— Alex Robertson, acting director of fire and aviation at the U.S. Forest Service
Why this matters:
Rising temperatures and prolonged droughts, both effects of climate change, have led to drier conditions that fuel larger and more intense wildfires. These conditions are exacerbated by past forest management practices, such as fire suppression policies that have allowed for the accumulation of underbrush and smaller trees, which act as kindling in fire situations.
The impacts of wildfires are more far-reaching than you may realize.
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USFWS - Pacific Region/Flickr
What if Indigenous women ran controlled burns?
The Karuk Tribe’s first-of-its-kind training seeks to extinguish hypermasculinity in firefighting culture.
Yosemite wildfire plan calls for cutting trees to protect park
With treasured forests perennially threatened by fierce wildfires, many experts say it’s time to cut and burn protectively. A lawsuit is standing in the way.
Andrew Gray/Flickr
Grazing greener
How Canada’s cattle industry has a role to play in fire prevention and carbon sequestration.
This vast wildfire lab is helping foresters prepare for a hotter planet
When the Bootleg fire tore through a nature reserve in Oregon this summer, the destruction varied in different areas. Researchers say forest management methods, including controlled burns, were a big factor.
What Biden’s infrastructure bill means for wildfire management
The bill allocates $3.3 billion for firefighter raises, prescribed fire, defending communities and more.
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