Canada: 'Unprecedented' Fires Destroy 6.7M Acres of Forest

Facts

• On Friday, the Canada Interagency Forest Fire Center reported that there are 324 fires currently burning across the country, with 167 classified as out of control.¹
• According to Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, tens of thousands of people, including many from indigenous communities, have been forced to evacuate across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, and Ontario.¹
• The wildfires have reportedly seen at least 6.7M acres of forest burned — over 10 times the average area typical by this time of year.²
• Amid the unprecedented wildfire season, 101 firefighters from the US arrived in Canada on Friday, adding to the existing 500 international personnel in Alberta already battling the blazes.³
• A further 700 firefighters from the US, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are expected in the coming weeks.³
• According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, carbon emissions from Canada's wildfires reached more than 54.8M tons for the month of May, more than double the amount of carbon emitted by wildfires in any May since estimates began in 2003.⁴

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Bloomberg, ³CP24, and ⁴New Scientist.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Al Jazeera. Climate change is exacerbating conditions that make for bigger, more destructive fires by causing more hot, windy weather and more dry vegetation. As the climate warms, fire seasons will get longer and continue to become more destructive. Canada's unprecedented wildfires should serve as a warning to all.
• Narrative B, as provided by NPR Online News. While climate change may exacerbate the severity of wildfires, prior and current forest mismanagement and politics play an equally, if not more important, role. Healthy forests need fire, but by neglecting the practice of controlled burns and other forms of indigenous forest management, forests as well as bushlands have grown out of control.