Canada’s record-breaking wildfires have widespread logging partly to blame

Quebec and Ontario’s environmentally crucial boreal forests had a tough wildfire season in 2023. The provinces had 12.8 million and 1.1 million acres burn, respectively.

The 44 million acres burned by wildfires across Canada have been attributed mainly to abnormal drought and high temperatures,  but a new study is pointing to another possible factor: the planting of millions of acres of immature trees after widespread logging. A recent study published by researchers at Australia’s Griffith University found more than 35 million acres of Canada’s forests have been lost to logging since 1976, including 20 million acres in Quebec and 14 million acres in Ontario.

The “loss” wasn’t caused by deforestation, which is “land that has been cleared of trees and permanently converted to another use” under Canada’s definition. Rather, the forest has been lost to forest degradation, or the conversion of naturally regenerating forest to plantations of planted trees.

“The Canadian Government claims that its forests have been managed according to the principles of sustainable forest management for many years,” the researchers said, “yet this notion of sustainability is tied mainly to maximizing wood production and ensuring the regeneration of commercially desirable tree species following logging,”

CanadaLogging
Overview of logged forest within the study area for the period ~1976 to 2020.

The decrease in the land area of older, more resilient forests across both Quebec and Ontario — and their subsequent replacement with immature trees — both lowered overall forest biodiversity and increased the prevalence of disturbances (wildfire, insect infestations, disease spread) over time.

“Logging has significantly increased the rate of disturbances in this region,” the report said. “This decrease in older forests when compared with historical natural conditions is accompanied by the resulting decline in structural attributes — such as large live and dead standing trees and coarse woody debris associated with older forests — which negatively affects biodiversity.”

The full study is online [HERE].

Quebec and Ontario’s environmentally crucial boreal forests had a tough wildfire season in 2023. The provinces had 12.8 million and 1.1 million acres burn, respectively.

The 44 million acres burned by wildfires across Canada have been attributed mainly to abnormal drought and high temperatures,  but a new study is pointing to another possible factor: the planting of millions of acres of immature trees after widespread logging. A recent study published by researchers at Australia’s Griffith University found more than 35 million acres of Canada’s forests have been lost to logging since 1976, including 20 million acres in Quebec and 14 million acres in Ontario.

Appeals commission rejects British Columbia landowner’s claim of neighbor arson, sticks him with $450K bill

Clarke Matthiesen claimed his neighbors’ grandson caused the 2019 fire that originated on his property, and not his unregistered burn, according to the CBC News.

It took B.C. Wildfire Service crews two weeks to contain the fire that  started as a holdover from Matthiesen’s debris burn. He’s now on the hook for about $450,000 after an appeals commission rejected his claim that his neighbors’ grandson started the fire. The Forest Appeals Commission dismissed his appeal, finding that his explanation was “both unproven and unlikely.”
British Columbia Fire Service photo
British Columbia Fire Service photo

Investigators had concluded that a holdover fire from an improperly extinguished open burn of Matthiesen’s was the cause. The burn covered around 224 square metres — under 2500 square feet —  and a holdover fire can smolder underground for days or even months. “The burning of a large debris pile, as in this case, is inherently risky and can result in significant destruction if wildfires result from the burning. It is the responsibility of those engaged in such burning activity to ensure they have met the legislated requirements,” the appeals decision says.

The wildfire burned for about two weeks some 150 kilometres west of Quesnel, B.C. Matthiesen was ordered to pay $179,344 for damage to Crown resources, $260,369 for the cost of fighting the fire, $7,546 for reforestation costs, and a $2,350 administrative penalty.

Matthiesen hadn’t raised his arson theory with any officials or investigators in the four years before his appeal. He did not have a burn permit for the fire he started, and had no firefighting tools or water nearby as required. An investigator said Matthiesen’s burn pile included root wads from trees, which are often involved in holdover fires.

“The appellant was unaware of the degree of risk posed by holdover fires, the appropriate way to check for hotspots, or the need to maintain a fuel break even after the initial burning phase,” the decision says.

Matthiesen is one of the latest people ordered to pay huge fines under a section of provincial law that allows the government to recover suppression costs from those responsible for starting wildfires. In another recent case, another man was billed for another 2019 fire, according to another CBC News report.

A northwest British Columbia resident was billed more than $100,000 to cover the province’s cost of a fire that started on his property four years ago. Eldon Whalen was ordered to pay $100,688 for a fire that spread from a burn pile on his property in the Kispiox Valley northwest of Prince George.

The open fire was deliberately ignited, and if not for the response of the B.C. Wildfire Service, the impacts would likely have been even more widespread, according to the decision from B.C.’s Forest Appeals Commission.

Satellite views of Canada’s largest 2023 fires

Over 18 million hectares (more than 44 million acres, roughly the size of North Dakota), were burned during Canada’s record-breaking wildfire season this year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC). Canada usually sees only 2.5 million hectares burn annually. Although the number of fires that burned this year isn’t unusual — 6,595 as of October — many of the fires that did burn spread to “megafire” status.

Newly released NASA satellite imagery shows the day-by-day expansion of some of these megafires. The year’s second-largest fire burned 1,224,938 hectares (4,730 square miles) southeast of Sakami in Quebec; it was fully contained in late July.

NASA satellite imagery also shows the spread of four wildfires in and south of the Northwest Territories. The western-most fire, burning near Fort Nelson, stopped spreading in August after burning 802,575 hectares. It then was reignited by winds in late September and early October and spread to 1,294,096 hectares, becoming the state’s largest wildfire as of November 4. The animation details the fire’s first spread.

Scientists tracked the fires with the new “Fire Events Data Suite” (FEDS), which draws on data from a group of satellites called VIIRS. “The thing that really sets FEDS apart is that the system excels at tracking the daily, incremental spread of fires at 12-hour intervals,” said Yang Chen, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Irvine. “That makes near real-time monitoring possible and allows us to generate much more detailed views of fire progression than we have been able to do in the past.”

The new system will reportedly help fire crews pinpoint the parts of a fire perimeter that are actively burning and identify residual heat from the fire that may pose a hazard to wildland firefighters.

Yukon First Nations Wildfire closes a record-breaking fire season

A collaboration between 13 indigenous governments and the Yukon government officially closed another fire season on Friday, which was one for Canada’s record books.

Canada saw more than double the carbon emissions from wildfires between January 1 and July 31 than the previous record year, according to the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme. The emissions represented 25 percent of the global total for 2023 to date.

Animation of GFASv1.2 active fire locations and fire radiative power over Canada from 1 May to 31 July 2023, showing how the locations of wildfires has moved during the 2023 season. Credit: CAMS/ECMWF.
Click to view animation of GFASv1.2 active fire locations and fire radiative power over Canada from 1 May to 31 July 2023, showing how the locations of wildfires moved during the 2023 season. Credit: CAMS/ECMWF.

The Yukon First Nations Wildfire partnership helped fight 218 of the fires that started in the territory and burned more than 223,942 hectares. The partnership is made up of 13 First Nations and nine stakeholders that incorporate traditional knowledge in both its IA and SA programs. The collaboration officially closed its IA crew’s season on September 15.

“Today is the final day of our Initial Attack crew’s season! Congratulations on a summer full of hard work and dedication,” the partnership posted on its Facebook page. “It’s been a record-breaking year for wildfires across the country, and your impact has been felt from coast to coast.”

Yukon First Nations Wildfire was founded by wildland firefighters and Indigenous business leaders in 2018 after Da Daghay Development Corporation, a First Nations development corporation, started talks for unified wildland firefighting from among all of the territory’s First Nations in 2015. The partnership has since trained 250 firefighters and deployed nine IA teams in First Nation communities.

Yellowknife firefighters

The 2023 season was the first in a recently renewed three-year agreement for managing wildfire in the territory between the First Nations and Yukon’s government, one that outlines hiring procedures for IA firefighters across the territory.

“Several models for wildfire response are in place across the Yukon depending on the preference of First Nations governments for direct hiring of wildland firefighters or delegating administration to others,” according to a June news release from Yukon’s government. “While some First Nations hire crew members directly through development corporations, others delegate contracts to Yukon First Nations Wildfire. These contracted employees are trained and integrated on a yearly basis into the territorial Wildland Fire Management organization.”

The Yukon First Nations Wildfire partnership specifically includes the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation, the White River First Nation, the Ta’an Kwach’an Council, the Liard First Nation, the Kluane First Nation, the Champagne Aishihik First Nation, the Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation, and the Ross River Dena Council. Four others — the Selkirk First Nation, the Vuntut First Nation, the Teslin Tlingit First Nation and the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, are administered by Development Corporation or First Nations directly.

 

Yet another Canadian firefighter dies … on the largest fire in British Columbia’s history

Second firefighter to die in B.C. in 2023  responding to wildfires

A Canadian wildland firefighter in British Columbia died while responding to the Donnie Creek Fire in northeast B.C., according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This is the second firefighter death on the front lines during the 2023 wildfire season in the province, along with other fatalities in Canada this season. RCMP said in a statement that the firefighter was a 25-year-old man from Ontario who died on Friday.

According to police, the firefighter, who was contracted to the B.C. Wildfire Service, was working in a remote area about 150 km (a little over 90 miles) north of Fort St. John when his utility terrain vehicle rolled over a sharp drop in a gravel road. “He was transported by helicopter to the Fort St. John Airport, but sadly succumbed to his injuries while en route,” reads the statement.

B.C. Premier David Eby said Saturday that the Donnie Creek Fire is the largest ever recorded in B.C. history. “I am heartbroken that another firefighter was lost protecting our communities and our province during this devastating wildfire season,” Eby said.

The incident’s still under investigation.

Canadian smoke update

Residents of eastern Canada and the United States shared unhealthy air quality as hundreds of northern wildfires burn. On June 7, unhealthy to hazardous air advisories were issued for the capital cities of Ottawa, Ontario, and Washington, D.C., and for populations along the smoke paths.

The Fire and Smoke Map from AirNow offers an interactive map-based tool with local precautions. For Ottawa on June 7, AirNow sensors identified a hazardous air quality index (AQI) in the 400s for PM 2.5 (particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or smaller; the average human hair is 30 times larger than the largest of PM 2.5 particulates). Due to the hazard of such a PM 2.5 loading, an advisory was issued to avoid all outdoor physical activity.

AirNow sensors with unhealthy air quality from Ottawa, Ontario to Washington, D.C.
AirNow sensors with unhealthy air quality from Ottawa, Ontario to Washington, D.C. Current map at fire.airnow.gov

In Washington, the AQI was unhealthy on June 7, with advisories to keep outdoor activities short and light, and to go indoors if you have symptoms. Sensitive groups should consider moving all activities indoors.

By the evening of June 8, the plume of unhealthiest air had shifted predominantly to the Northeast coast. In New York City, producers cited the effects of smoke when cancelling two Broadway shows and a Shakespeare in the Park performance. On June 6, New York City Mayor Eric Adams cancelled outdoor school activities. “We are taking precautions out of an abundance of caution to protect New Yorkers’ health until we are able to get a better sense of future air quality reports,” he said. “We recommend all New Yorkers limit outdoor activity to the greatest extent possible. Those with preexisting respiratory problems, like heart or breathing problems, as well as children and older adults may be especially sensitive and should stay indoors at this time.”

AirNow map for evening of June 8, 2023.
AirNow map for evening of June 8, 2023. Source: fire.airnow.gov

To track smoke risk, the IQAir Earth Map and the associated World AQI Ranking offer another set of monitoring tools, based on their IQAir network. As of June 7, their World AQI Ranking listed New York City as #2 and Detroit, Michigan as #5 as global cities with the worst air, with Toronto as #15. By the evening of June 8, New York City had dropped to #6, Toronto to #10, and Detroit to #24.

IQAir Earth map for June 7, 2023. Current map at www.iqair.com/us/earth.
IQAir Earth map for June 7, 2023. Current map at www.iqair.com/us/earth.

in an article for The Conversation, Christopher T. Migliaccio, a research associate professor in toxicology at the University of Montana, wrote on smoke toxicity and precautions to consider when exposed to smoke:

If there is smoke in the air, you want to decrease your exposure.

Can you completely avoid the smoke? Not unless you’re in a hermetically sealed home. The PM levels aren’t much different indoors and out unless you have a really good HVAC system, such as those with MERV 15 or better filters. But going inside decreases your activity, so your breathing rate is slower and the amount of smoke you’re inhaling is likely lower.

We also tend to advise people that if you’re in a susceptible group, such as those with asthma, create a safe space at home and in the office with a high-level stand-alone air filtration system to create a space with cleaner air.

Some masks can help. It doesn’t hurt to have a high-quality N95 mask. Just wearing a cloth mask won’t do much, though.

The BlueSky Canada smoke forecast for June 8 through June 10 offers a specific two-day outlook that doesn’t promise an end to smoke, but indicates that the thickest production may alternate with lighter periods of smoke. By June 10, something like clear skies may appear over Detroit, and the thickest fingers of smoke, from the Quebec fires through Ottawa to New York City, will become more intermittent. A look at the timing of the heaviest smoke may help to plan outside activities during the hours of clearer air.

The BlueSky Canada forecast also shows continued fire and smoke in western Canada and Alberta.

The BlueSky Canada smoke forecast from June 8-10, 2023.
The BlueSky Canada smoke forecast from June 8-10, 2023. For current forecast: firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/