News and opinion about wildland fire
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire4 Comments on Satellite photo, wildfires in the Northwest, July 29, 2021 
The wildfires in Southeast British Columbia, Northern Washington, Northern Idaho, and Northwest Montana were putting up a lot of smoke Thursday at 7:10 p.m. PDT. NASA GOES 17.
A team of scientists from British Columbia, the United States, and Spain say Western Canada must address the threats posed by highly destructive wildfires or face deadly consequences.
The scientists, including Mathieu Bourbonnais, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, predict devastating wildfires such as those currently burning in B.C. and elsewhere in the country will be commonplace by 2050.
The group has released a paper predicting billions of dollars in suppression and indirect fire costs as well as hundreds or thousands of premature deaths due to exposure to wildfire smoke if climate change and fire causes are not resolved.
The warning comes as statistics from the B.C. government show 1,251 wildfires have charred more than 4,500 square kilometres of bush since the start of the fire season on April 1.
Three dozen of those blazes are considered extremely threatening or highly visible and include the 395 square kilometre fire southwest of 100 Mile House that remains out of control and prompted an evacuation alert for another 161 properties on Wednesday.
Environment Canada has issued heat warnings or special weather statements for inland sections of the north and central coasts and much of southern B.C., as the BC Wildfire Service warns the combination of high temperatures and low relative humidity will make wildfires even more intense.
Bourbonnais, who spent years working as a wildland firefighter, says in a statement that a new long-term plan is needed because it’s simplistic and insufficient to blame the wildfire crisis on the forest sector or wildland fire management agencies.
“Wildfires affect so many facets of our society and environment including health, the economy, biodiversity, ecosystem function and more,” he says in the release.
“Wildland fire management must engage additional proponents, including Indigenous Peoples, industry and communities, to help people learn to live with the realities of landscapes and ecological systems that include wildfires but, over time, work to reduce their more catastrophic effects.”
The economic and social costs of wildfire response are unsustainable, the scientists argue.
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First published by The Canadian Press
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire2 Comments on Forecast for wildfire smoke July 14 & 15, 2021 1:48 p.m. MDT July 14, 2021
Above is NOAA’s forecast for the distribution of wildfire smoke at 8 p.m. MDT July 14, 2021.
Below is the Canadian’s version of a forecast for the distribution of wildfire smoke 24 hours later, at 8 p.m. MDT July 15, 2021.
The photo below taken Wednesday morning in Northeast North Dakota shows visibility being compromised by smoke, which may have originated in Canada.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Helicopter pilot killed in crash while fighting wildfire in Alberta There were no other personnel on board
The pilot of a helicopter that crashed while fighting a fire in Alberta, Canada was killed when the Bell 212 went down Monday evening. It occurred on a fire near the community of Evansburg. The body of the pilot, the only person on board, was recovered Monday.
The pilot’s family has been notified.
From CBC news:
Emergency crews were called to the scene around 6:30 p.m. after RCMP received a 911 call reporting the crash. Evansburg RCMP, EMS, firefighters and Alberta Wildfire responded to the site in a remote area west of Highway 22 and north of Highway 16 in Yellowhead County.
The location is not accessible by road and police were brought to the scene by aircraft.
Logan said the terrain of the remote crash site was “difficult” but witness accounts helped first responders narrow their search for the wreckage.
“It wasn’t an exhaustive search because many eyewitnesses saw the helicopter go down,” Fraser said.
RCMP are cooperating with Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigators who are taking charge of the investigation, Logan said.
Our sincere condolences go out to the pilot’s family, friends, and co-workers.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matthew.
Cloverdale Fire
Updated 8:42 a.m. MDT May 19, 2021
Tuesday afternoon and into the evening the Cloverdale Fire a few kilometers northeast of Prince Albert, Sask. was active near Highway 55 where it burned across the highway north of the 780 road and spread into agricultural areas. The fields at that location and on the north side of the fire make it easier for firefighters to contain the blaze in those areas. (See the map below.)
The video below was aired Tuesday evening.
The weather forecast for Prince Albert on Wednesday is for increasing clouds with a west wind of 30 km/h gusting to 50, and the temperature steady near 9C.
5:09 p.m. MDT May 18, 2021
A large wildfire just northeast of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan has burned thousands of hectares and prompted the evacuations of more than 35 homes. Tuesday morning Steve Roberts, vice-president of operations for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said it had burned 3,694 hectares (9,128 acres). (See the map above.)
Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said Tuesday morning that the fire had jumped across Highway 55.
Electrical power has been shut off for about 8,000 people.
The city of Prince Albert declared a state of emergency last night because of fires on the northeast outskirts of the city.
Power has been out for over 8 thousand people in the north central area due to several transmission lines being damaged by the fire. pic.twitter.com/PXJNIH7j9Z
— APTN News (@APTNNews) May 18, 2021
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire2 Comments on Large wildfires in Manitoba prompt smoke advisories 
Multiple wildfires in Southern Manitoba grew large Monday pushed by strong winds while the temperature was high and the relative humidity was low. The smoke being produced by the blazes prompted Environment Canada to issue multiple special air quality statements Monday evening.
“Localized areas of smoke are creating reduced visibilities and poor air quality down wind of fires,” the agency said in the statement.
The areas under the air quality statement as of Monday evening include:
Four 10-person teams of firefighters are being brought in from Ontario to assist, while Quebec sent two air tankers and a bird dog aircraft.
The EA044 fire 23 Km (14 miles) west of Gypsumville seen on the map above is very close to another much larger fire. They may be all one fire separated by an area of light vegetation that cooled in between heat-detecting satellite overflights. If they are one, they cover an area of approximately 52,500 hectares (130,000 acres). About 28,300 hectares (70,000 acres) burned at that location Monday during the strong winds.
Below are forecasts produced by FireSmoke Canada for the distribution of wildfire smoke on Tuesday and Thursday. The circles with numbers indicate multiple fires at each location.
