As wildfires plague northeastern B.C. and ravage northern Alberta, B.C.’s forests minister is blunt about what the logging industry can expect this year. “We know we face significant challenges over the summer,” said Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, during a speech to industry representatives attending the Interior Logging Assocation’s annual…
Before firefighting crews are done extinguishing a burning forest, investigators from the B.C. Wildfire Service are already examining the smoking remains behind them, sifting through the ash for clues as to how the fire started. “We prefer to be deployed as soon as possible,” said Ian Douglas, who leads some 50 investigators across B.C. as…
Forest fires popping up along the eastern part of the province are making for smokier air in the region, which has Manitoba health officials reminding people with breathing problems to be on their toes. A major forest fire burned east of Caddy Lake near the Manitoba-Ontario border late this week. It forced cottagers in the Beresford subdivision at Nopiming…
Firefighters started to realize the uniquely destructive nature of the Fort McMurray wildfire when they saw aspen poplar trees instantaneously and loudly explode into fire. As veterans of Alberta’s wildfire wars will tell you, the aspen does not readily burn, not with its green leaves and thick twigs. But in the hottest of fires, gases…
Like people, forest fires have distinct personalities. Some burn with a steady direction and pace. Others trace an angrier path, burning fiercely but briefly. The wildfire class known as the “wooey,” or “wildland urban interface,” is the delinquent of the bunch. These blazes occur when the somewhat predictable elements of a wildfire hit the varied…
The era of the mega-fire began in the late 1980s and unfortunately it did not peak in Fort McMurray last week. There are more – and probably bigger fires to come. Mega-fires are wildfires that are so intense, so fast moving and so large they are impossible to stop, even by the best-trained suppression crews….
Saskatchewan remains at risk to wildfires, although officials note that — so far this season — things are under control or contained. During a briefing with news media Friday, officials noted that there have been 117 fires so far this year, compared with 92 by the same time a year ago. They said there were dealing with…
All fire permits are suspended beginning Sunday morning in Thunder Bay as the city joins other municipalities in northwestern Ontario and the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry in issuing a fire ban. The Ministry declared the region a restricted fire zone as of Saturday because of a “high to extreme” risk of forest fires…
This week, 18 human-caused forest fires have been reported already in Newfoundland and Labrador. Forest fire season began May 1 in Newfoundland, and begins May 15 in Labrador. It ends on Sept. 30 province wide. The Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development is reminding residents that forest fire regulations are being enforced. Residents…
By dousing small, regular fires, forest managers are creating the conditions for cataclysmic events, scientists have said. Fires in temperate forests are generally increasing in size and area. This is partly because of climate change. Fire seasons in many parts of the world are getting longer and drier. But equally important in the temperate forests…