Alberta - the impact and human responses as evidenced by a recent wildfire
- Created by: caramorton
- Created on: 13-01-18 17:45
View mindmap
- Alberta - the impact and human responses as evidenced by a recent wildfire
- Basic facts
- Began 1st May 2016
- 90,000 people evacuated
- It was nicknamed 'the beast' and swept through Alberta province
- Devastated the city of Fort McMurray, destroying 2400 homes & business
- 600,000 ha of land was burned
- No deaths and 85% of the city was saved
- Canada's most costliest disaster - $9bn in Fort McMurray alone
- Causes and contributory factors
- The inital cause is unknown - it began in a remote forest SW of Fort McMurray
- The fire spread erratically - changing wind direction which carried embers over large distances. At one point the fire jumped over a 1km river
- A lack of winter snowfall and early snow melt combined with warmer than average temperatures dried out the ground
- In April temperatures soared up to 26°C (more than double the average) and the humidity was very low- vegetation became tinder dry
- In the first few days of May temperatures increased further to over 30°C and winds increased. This caused wider spread of the fires
- The intensity of the fire caused its own weather patterns including lightning - this in turn caused further fire - POSITIVE FEEDBACK
- Responses
- Short term
- A mass evacuation program was implemented and some 90,000 residents were escorted to safety. Lack of deaths show how good evacuation was
- The Alberta government declared a state of emergency and this triggered support from the Canadian armed forces. Offers of help were received from USA, Australia & Russia
- Long term
- The Alberta government supported evacuees by providing CAN$1250 per adult. By 9 May the Canadian Red Cross had received donations in excess $50 million
- In nearby, Edmonton an online registry supported by local government was created to help evacuees find accommodation
- In June residents gradually returned. The Canadian prime minister promised long term aid to help support the re-building
- At the end of June 2016 a benefit concert 'Fire Aid' took place in Edmoton
- Short term
- Impacts of the wildfires
- Social
- 90,000 forced to flee Fort McMurray
- Increased levels of anxiety about the future with people scared that fires of this nature may become more common due to climate change
- Jobs & livelihoods affected and movement in the area affected
- 2,400 homes burned down in Fort McMurray
- Political
- The fire has fuelled debate about the causes of the fire and links to climate change
- Alberta government had to co-ordinate the evacuation programme and oversee the phased re-entry
- Economic
- Inital insurance estimates suggested CAN$9BN worth of damage in Fort McMurray
- Shell oil shut down its operations in the Albian sands mine. 600 camp units for workers destroyed by fire
- The wildfires cost the oil industry about $1BN in lost revenue and cost of replacing buildings destroyed in the fire
- Transport in the region was severely affected with buisnesses unable to export and import goods. Flights also cancelled from local airports
- Environmental
- The intensity of the fire severely affected the boreal forest ecosystem because of the scorched soil and burnt tree roots
- Huge amounts of waste e.g. rotting food had to be disposed of - much of this was toxic
- The fire will have released several million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere adding to global warming
- Water supplies became contaminated as untreated water was delibrately introduced into the main water supply to assist fire fighters
- Toxins from the fire (mercury and lead) created air pollution as far away as the USA and Gulf coast
- Ash washed into the rivers after heavy rain contaminating fish and wildlife
- Social
- Basic facts
Comments
Report