A traditional Alberta spring can bring many things to the province.
A fresh blanket of snow in April or early May can quickly be replaced by the official arrival of wildfire season, which returned with an exclamation point last week.
As of writing, more than 29,000 Albertans have been evacuated from their homes and the Alberta government has declared a provincial state of emergency, as more than 100 wildfires continue to rage throughout various regions of central and northern Alberta.
The dry spring and summer weather in recent weeks has led to skies filled with smoke, water bombers in the air, and towers of red flame rising high above the tree canopy. Photos from the impacted areas have looked almost apocalyptic, with orange burning skies and forests on fire for kilometres on end.
Our hearts go out to the tens of thousands of people impacted – not to mention the millions of wildlife and farm animals that will surely perish as a result of these devastating blazes.
Remarkably, a few news reports have indicated that some people in the impacted regions have chosen not to listen to mandatory evacuation orders. This is not only a foolish decision, but it also may put firefighters' and first responders' lives at risk in the event they need to rescue these people later. We hope people who are wilfully ignoring evacuation orders can think not only of themselves in these instances.
As cliché as it sounds, it’s ultimately up to each person – resident and visitor – to take responsibility to prevent a worst case scenario with wildfires. Smokey the Bear wasn't exaggerating when he famously suggested that "Only 'you' can prevent forest fires."
Last year, according to provincial statistics from Alberta Wildfire, 1,246 wildfires burned a combined total of 130,000 hectares of forest. The bulk of them – 61 per cent – were human-caused, with 38 per cent from lightning and one per cent remaining under investigation.
According to Alberta Wildfire, 218 wildfires were caused through recreation and another 161 were by residents.
But though human activity can often be the cause wildfires, the public is also the leading cause of detection – by a long shot. According to Alberta Wildfires, members of the public called in 581 of the wildfires in 2022, followed by 288 reported from lookout towers.
The risk of wildfires is always present, but with the threat of climate change actively increasing – research from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows the earth is warmer than at any period in the last 125,000 years – the reality is the danger of wildfires will only grow in the coming years.
This year, that warning appears particularly true; the number of Alberta wildfires in 2023 has nearly doubled compared to the five-year average. Data from the wildfire status dashboard current from May 4 at 2 p.m. showed there were 64 active wildfires in the province for a total of 323 wildfires this year, as of that date. It's only gone up in the week since.
The five-year average on wildfires is 166, according to Derrick Forsythe, a wildfire information officer at Alberta Wildfire. He said 1,002 hectares have burned so far this year and with the five-year average of hectares lost sitting at 400.17, it’s been a busy wildfire season.
