It’s that time of year when forest fires are at their peak. This year has been extremely hot and dry and there have been many fires throughout western Canada and predominantly in British Columbia (B.C). I was chatting about this with some girlfriends the other night and the talk was about the large number of fires suspected to have been caused by people and some deliberately set by arson. I was under the assumption, majority of fires were from lightning strikes, so this was new information for me. I wanted to find out how common it was for human caused wildfires. I was struggling to think that anyone would do this on person and maybe fires were being set by accident and I even went so far as to say the words out loud to a few people that maybe some were being set by climate change activists as it wouldn’t surprise me after all the documentaries that came out about what about the vandalism and destruction of pipelines the so called environmental activist did when they crippled the oil and gas industry in Canada a few years back. However, the more I chatted this up with people, I got some very surprising stories of how not using common sense when it comes to paying attention to fire bans or understanding how all the hot weather we have had for months leading up to summer had caused everything to be so dry that a spark from a vehicle or a cigarette butt thrown out the window could have devastating effects.
According to the British Columbia government website, there were 2,117 fires in 2018 covering a total of 1,354,284 hectares of land. Of these, 30% (628) were person caused, 70% (1489) lightning caused. In 2019 there were 825 fires covering 21,138 and 55% (450) were person caused and 45% (375) were caused by lightning. In 2020 there were 670 fires covering 14,536 hectares and 59% (395) were person caused and 41% (275) were lightning caused. Since April 2021, the B.C Wildfire Services has responded to 1,231 wildfires covering 501,676 hectares of land.
As my eyes were burning walking into work yesterday, I couldn’t help but feel selfish for wanting the smoke to move along. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be near the actual fires and not just the effects of where the wind has blown the smoke here in Calgary. As of Saturday morning August 14th, there were 59 evacuation orders and 112 evacuation alerts across the province of B.C and the number of evacuations orders for homes is at 6,321 and alerts at 27,776. These numbers are climbing everyday as the lack of rain in the interior of B.C is making it difficult to get these wildfires under control. CBC reported that Kyle Young, an incident commander with the B.C Wildfire Service, posted an emotional Twitter thread on the services’ account for August 13th describing this year as the “most challenging summer” in his 16-year firefighting career.
I really feel for those who have been evacuated or on alert. I can’t understand what they are going through in the sense of being on standby to know if you have a home to go to, but I can relate to losing a home to a fire. When I was about 8 or 9 years old, we lived way out in the country on an acreage near Algonquin Park in Ontario. We were about 30 minutes from any town with emergency services. My oldest brother had moved out to live in the city with his girlfriend leaving only me and my 4 siblings at home. We had all caught the bus and left for school and this one morning at about 11:00 a.m., I was called to the principal office over the loud speaker. Everyone knew when that happened, it was never good news. I was the only one of us in my family of the age for elementary school and it was a building from the junior high and high schools. My older siblings were in junior high and my younger brother was not yet in school and when my mom went to work, she would have dropped him off at daycare. When I got to the principal’s office, I was given the news that there was a fire at our house and I was to not take the bus home after school but would be told by the end of the day where I would be picked up or what arrangements would be made. My first thought was of my dad and was he okay. He was working a night shift and would come home when we were having breakfast and once we were on the bus off to school he would head to bed to get his sleep before heading back to work after supper. The principal couldn’t tell me any details at this time but would keep me updated as soon as he found out. I remember being so anxious as the day wore on and by the end was just wanting to be with my family but unfortunately that wasn’t possible. We couldn’t expect anyone’s home to have room for all 7 of us so we were split up. My little brother stayed with my parents of course, and my older siblings had friends they were staying with. That left me, and I would be staying at the home of our bus driver on his pig farm with his 4 kids. None of them were in my class or really kids I hung out with and at the time as a small child, I felt very alone. The community support was amazing but as a child that young, I wasn’t aware of that at the time as I don’t think any child would be of that age – children only want their mom or dad and to feel safe.
We later found out that the fire was caused by a piece of clothing thrown over a lamp shade in my brothers room and as the flames engulfed the house, my dad would have died in bed from smoke inhalation had he not had a warning by some shotgun shells in one of the dresser drawers in the boys room that went off with the heat and woke him up in time to escape. After staying with the family that graciously took me in for a week, my parents were able to pull a trailer onto our acreage to live in until we could rebuild the house. The first time going back to see the devastation really took a toll on all of us. It was February and a few months prior had been the best Christmas I could remember. My parents were finally getting ahead financially it seemed as it had taken them 3 years to build that house on their own for the most part to save money for their 6 children and now with my brother in the city making money at his job, the presents were plenty that year and I got spoiled. Sadly, those were all up in ash…and our family cat was put down by the fireman due to smoke inhalation and couldn’t be saved. To lose everything and to be honest they are only things and material stuff that you can always get back but usually you don’t replace them as it can be difficult, and you just move on. We did also lose most of the family photos which I remember at the time was very hard on my mom. Since then, she had always taught us to put them and any important papers and documents in your freezer as they are usually protected in a fire there. Now we have most things digital, but my passport does live in my freezer to this day and I have passed this learning on to my children as well.
Looking through the eyes of that 8 or 9-year-old girl, who saw all her toys, clothing, furniture and everything that allowed her (me) to feel safe, was gone – burned up or damaged by water. As an adult, I can now see the selfishness in that but as that little girl, I made a pact with myself in that moment, that I would never get attached to anything nice or love a pet the same way again. I instilled a belief in me that I should never get attached or you will get hurt. That wall was up for a very long time and it has taken me years to overcome it and take it down. I have had a few pets as an adult, but I still kept some sort of distance from it all as well as how I use to take care of anything I bought. There was no pride of ownership there with vehicles, furniture or clothing and it’s only been the last 5 years, that I have turned that belief around and appreciate and respect all that I have. It’s amazing what stories we tell ourselves out of hurt and sadness that linger and shape who we become and how our lives turn out. That was definitely a turning point for our family and my parents never caught up financially from that for several years later. We did build the same house but this time instead of my parents having the time to build it themselves, they had to hire out a lot of the work and it cost them quite a bit more than what it did the first time. They were essentially paying a mortgage on a house not yet built to live in and a large rental trailer that temporarily gave us shelter for that 2 years. By the time I was 12 going on 13, my parents packed it in and we left Ontario for Alberta. I believe that fire had long lasting impacts on all of us as so much in our lives changed.
I look back on this with compassion for the lives and communities devastated by wildfires each year and for those living with so much uncertainty right now with all the out of control fires currently burning. I am not sure how it is for getting insurance money recouped when it’s due to a forest fire. I know there are still people waiting to get their insurance money for losing their homes to the floods we had in this area back in 2013. Any type of disaster like that, has such far reaching repercussions financially and emotionally and let’s face it, a lack of money can be the cause of so many hardships and have a ripple effect in any family. There’s also the safety and health factors associated with all of this. People’s health from fires are affected by the air quality and this can cause anything from eye and respiratory tract irritations to more serious disorders like reduced lung function, bronchitis, exacerbation of asthma, heart failure and premature death. I haven’t heard about any human fatalities thankfully from these latest fires however, I have read about people with farm animals struggling to find space to move them out of harm’s way and not always having time to do this. I came across an article written by the Guardian from 2019 recalling the Cache Creek B.C wildfire in 2017 and two years after that fire killed the pigs on Scott Kellington’s farm, he was still coming to terms with the destruction. This article also mentions that there were over 500 cattle killed in fires over that 2-year period since 2017. The B.C SPCA have a great article posted on July 14th, 2021 called, “How wildfires affect wildlife”. In this, they note that the change in habitat and food resources will have a lasting impact for generations. Most larger and fast-moving animals sense the danger and move on but it’s the smaller slower ones that may seek shelter in logs, under rocks or hiding in their burrows. Some predators take advantage of the confusion and will hunt small or young animals who are fleeing the blaze and left behind because they are not able to keep up. Unfortunately, some animals do die in wildfires. Typically, these slower moving species, like porcupines, or young animals, like nestling or fledging birds who are unable to escape. Most die as a result of smoke inhalation, oxygen deprivation or injuries. Some animals including birds might also suffer from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Even if the animals survive, it’s difficult to find food, water and shelter they need to survive – an impact that can last for years.
On the flipside of this, I wanted to understand the positive impacts a forest fire can have. I know this may be hard to see at this time especially since I know a lot of my readers have family members currently evacuated and their futures up in the air, but I wanted to add some positivity in here to try and see the good in some of this. Wildfires change the ecosystem in a natural and beneficial way that promotes diversity of animal and plant life. Stumps and burnt-out trees remaining after a forest fire provide habitat for lots of different species that would not have lived there before these structures were provided. Parks Canada does do control burns of some forest areas for this very reason. To burn off the dead areas and have them provide regrowth and birth. The ecological benefits of controlled use of wildfires is very common around the world. The Canadian government website has an educational document highlighting the benefits of cleaning the forest floor to remove low-growing underbrush and debris to open up the sunlight and nourish the soil. It also mentions that fires can kill off diseases and insects that prey on trees. If you have ever hiked or walked through the forest and seen the small Jack Pine cones and Lodgepole Pine cones on the ground – these require the heat of fire to release their seeds to germinate due to a waxy protective coating on them. All the positive effects of a forest fire are great if it is controlled through the wildfire management program within each province.
Fire safety and awareness is required based on the human caused stats I pointed out in the beginning of this article which brings me back to how human caused fires can happen. My daughter Amanda was out hiking last Sunday with co-workers and they came across a family having an open campfire. When she told me I was like WTF, how is that possible?? There are signs up everywhere and all you have to do is turn on the radio, tv or open your browser on the internet and all you can see is talk about the fires and how dry it is everywhere. Amanda and her friends are all educated environmentalist as well and for the sake of giving someone the benefit of the doubt and not calling in the incident to the authorities, they went over to this family and informed them that there are hefty fines and jail time for anyone having a fire right now with the bans that are on. The current maximum fine for individuals who knowingly contravene the Fire Ban Act is $100,000 or imprisonment for up to two years. This family pretended that they didn’t see any signs and played dumb because they got caught. Amanda stuck around long enough to ensure the fire was out before they moved on with their hike. So, I guess if this is one family, how many more people are chancing fires out in the provincial and federal parks? It’s mind blowing really and there was a fire along Highway #1 last week near Canmore at Dead Man’s Flat just before you enter Banff National Park that was started by a cigarette butt thrown out of a vehicle. How are people who smoke still throwing those out the window? It really does come down to common sense. The most common causes of human caused fires are: debris burning, sparks thrown from equipment and railroads, power lines, smoking, fireworks, campfires, accidental ignitions and arson. If you are in the forested areas, being aware of your every move is crucial for prevention.
I hope this article has brought some awareness to this issue and I know my family, friends, subscribers and readers would never do anything like these examples I provided, but I think we all have a responsibility that we share in understanding safe fire practices. It’s not a government agency concern, it is a community concern that requires everyone to become involved in solutions. Please educate yourself, there’s lots of information on the internet with regards to fire prevention for human caused wildfires and house fires. Talk to your family, neighbours and friends about it. I love our beautiful parks and enjoy so much time out there that I have respect for the trails when I am out there. And the only way to ensure they remain intact and to help keep everyone who lives in and around these beautiful forested areas safe, is to ensure we are all doing our part. I ask that you educate yourself, talk about this more with your communities, be safe and practice fire prevention.