Wildfires raging across six of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories have caused havoc nationwide for the last six weeks – forcing mass evacuations and burning through more than 3.3 million hectares of land, larger than the state of Maryland.
With the smoke now billowing down to the East Coast of the United States, affecting 75 million Americans, the dire threat to Canada’s forests has come into sharp focus.
Some blame lax forest management, arguing that not enough controlled burns are being carried out thanks to campaigns by environmentalists.
In 2020, four scientists wrote a paper published in Progress in Disaster Science in which they said not enough money was being spent by Canada on managing forests.
‘Wildfire management agencies in Canada are at a tipping point,’ they wrote. ‘Presuppression and suppression costs are increasing but program budgets are not.’
In July 2021, the editorial board of Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper warned that more needed to be done to hold controlled burns, and reduce the problem of out-of-control wildfires.
But others say that climate change is directly responsible, due to the warming planet.
Canada had an extremely dry and snow-free winter, which has left all 10 provinces currently facing conditions termed abnormal dryness, moderate or severe drought, according to the Canadian government’s drought tracker.
In June 2021, Canada experienced its hottest day ever when the town of Lytton, in British Columbia, hit 121 degrees Fahrenheit, smashing the previous record of 113 degrees.
It tied California’s Death Valley as the hottest place in North America that day. And this year, the wildfire season has begun incredibly early.
More than 1,400 percent of the normal amount of acres has burned for this time of the year – 8.7 million acres so far in 2023, an area the size of Vermont. In an average year, 6.2 million acres will burn due to wildfires.
Dry, hot weather also breeds more lightning. Half of Canada’s wildfires are started by lightning; the other half by humans.
Lightning-sparked fires are more destructive than human-caused, however: they account for more than 85 percent of wildfire destruction.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, tweeted: ‘This wildfire season has already been devastating for communities across the country.
‘We’re taking action to keep people safe, to support those affected, and to make sure the provinces and territories have the assistance they need.’
Read More: What caused Canada’s wildfires?
