100+ Wildfires in Canada Displace Thousands

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Facts

  • As of Saturday morning, at least 103 wildfires were burning across the province of Alberta, Canada, displacing thousands of residents and livestock. According to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, 37 of the wildfires are burning out of control.1
  • In response, authorities have declared a state of emergency, and firefighters from British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario have been deployed to support firefighting operations. As crews battle the wildfires, nearly 30K residents face evacuation orders across western Canada.2
  • Increasingly warm and dry weather is blamed for the fires, with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith calling the situation an "unprecedented crisis." While assuring Albertans that the province has the resources to respond, Smith said, "Much of Alberta has been experiencing a hot, dry spring and with so much kindling, all it takes is a few sparks to ignite some truly frightening wildfires."3
  • Alberta has experienced 348 wildfires this year engulfing more than 25K acres. Christie Tucker, an information unit manager for Alberta Wildfire, said this year's wildfire threat is significantly higher than past years, and "It's going to get hotter, it's going to get windier and we are expecting some extreme wildfire behaviour [sic]."4
  • On Sunday, in a joint statement, the Alberta Emergency Management Agency and Alberta Wildfire said that changing weather conditions like scattered rain moving through the province helped firefighters control the blazes.5
  • The increasing wildfire danger is just one of many hazards facing Canadians. In addition to the warming trend sparking wildfires, the extreme heat and increased rainfall have also sped up the melting of the winter snow pack resulting in recent major flooding.6

Sources: 1The Star, 2Earth, 3New York Post, 4Guardian, 5CBC, and 6DW.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Canada. The Canadian government is committed to keeping people safe as the country faces an increased wildfire threat due to the changing climate. Even with dedicated and sufficient resources, wildfires will continue to impact communities. This dedication to addressing the threats of climate change is visible in the 2022 commitment of $516M across the country for fire services training, hiring, equipment purchases for First Nations, and a satellite-based wildfire monitoring system.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Global News. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being squandered by the Canadian government completing ill-advised and inadequate fire mitigation measures. The government must immediately put policies and practices into place that combine prescribed fire, Indigenous traditional know-how and technique, and sustainable forestland harvesting to be successful at beating back climate change impacts on wildfires.

Predictions