Last week, the eyes of the world were on Jasper, Alta., as a fast-moving wildfire swept through the Rocky Mountain community, razing historic buildings, homes and businesses.
Firefighters on the ground reported meeting walls of flames 100 metres high. More than one-third of the Jasper townsite was destroyed, while approximately 325 square kilometres of the national park SA国际影视传媒� close to three per cent SA国际影视传媒� have been scorched to date. The townsite is now secure, but the out-of-control Jasper wildfire is still burning through forests in the iconic park.
As the Jasper disaster continues to unfold, many Canadians are pointing fingers, looking to blame a single source for what happened. Some say it was the mountain pine beetle, which killed off significant sections of forest, leaving dry, dead trees. Others say not enough was done to thin the forest and build an effective fire break near town.
The reality, however, is more complicated.
Decades of highly effective fire suppression in and around national parks have left them more vulnerable to large fires, according to Pierre Martel, the director of national fire management for Parks Canada.
Forests across Canada, and beyond, have been without fire for too long, setting the stage for uncontrollable mega-fires, with seemingly limitless fuel, in a dryer and warmer climate.
And itSA国际影视传媒檚 not just parks that are primed to burn.
In B.C., the town of Lytton burned to the ground in 2021 and has yet to be rebuilt. In 2017, a fire swept through Paradise, Calif., claiming 85 lives. That same year, another Rocky Mountain jewel in Alberta, Waterton Lakes National Park, was hit by a massive blaze.
Research suggests logging leaves boreal forests more susceptible to fire from both lightning strikes and increased human activity in the woods.
Without small-scale prescribed burns and brush removal to periodically clean the forest floor of natural detritus, parks and other places can quickly succumb to massive wildfires beyond our control.
Add in climate change, with its increased heat and chaotic precipitation, as well as dead trees from mountain pine beetles SA国际影视传媒� themselves a byproduct of warmer winters and past forest management SA国际影视传媒� and the conditions are prime for a devastating firestorm.
Forest ecosystems in parks have unique histories and issues SA国际影视传媒� and also unique opportunities for solutions that can help mitigate wildfires.
Indigenous practices
Before colonization, Indigenous Peoples managed fire to clear the forests of fuel, promote the growth of traditional and medicinal plants and restore habitat for large mammals and other wildlife.
In some ways, Martel and others say weSA国际影视传媒檙e playing catch-up, trying to reverse the consequences of management practices of the recent past and mitigate climate impacts so as to reduce the risk of wildfires in protected areas and improve wildlife habitat.
SA国际影视传媒淗istorically, and probably still today, there would have been more of a tendency towards overprotection of protected areas,SA国际影视传媒� Wesley Ball, a conservation policy specialist with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, says in an interview.
After all, parks are managed places. Fire suppression SA国际影视传媒� which has changed the composition of the forests and altered the natural ebb and flow of wildfires SA国际影视传媒� is one aspect of that management.
Natural Resources Canada says multiple considerations are taken into account in deciding whether to let a fire burn or to fight it, with a focus on saving SA国际影视传媒渉igh-value commercial forests,SA国际影视传媒� residential areas and recreation sites. The federal department notes, SA国际影视传媒淧rotection of rare habitat, culturally significant areas and similar values will influence suppression decisions.SA国际影视传媒�
But leaving things to nature, or undoing the management errors of the past, isnSA国际影视传媒檛 always possible, particularly in an increasingly fragmented landscape across vast areas of Alberta and B.C. Even activities like prescribed burning have to be carefully thought out.
Bell points to caribou in Alberta, noting there isnSA国际影视传媒檛 much undisturbed habitat left and itSA国际影视传媒檚 difficult to justify burning it in order to manage the risk of wildfires because the caribou have nowhere else to go.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think one of the difficulties in the current landscape, with the amount of industrial disturbance through forestry and mining and everything, is that you canSA国际影视传媒檛 manage a protected area on its own. It needs to be within the broader landscape,SA国际影视传媒� he says. SA国际影视传媒淎nd thatSA国际影视传媒檚 particularly challenging with the extent of the disturbance that there is in Canada, but in Alberta especially.SA国际影视传媒�
Parks Canada takes similar factors into account when deciding how to confront a fire, according to Martel.
SA国际影视传媒淚n the areas that are within a certain zone, that is tied to the highest risks to people and infrastructure and communities, SA国际影视传媒� we have to continue the suppression history because we canSA国际影视传媒檛 afford to have fires freely burning on those landscapes itSA国际影视传媒檚 just too risky,SA国际影视传媒� he says.
There is also the tension between recreation, tourism and protection that is ubiquitous in popular parks SA国际影视传媒� particularly in Jasper, which saw 2.48 million visitors in 2023 and Banff, which saw 4.28 million. The parks are there to be enjoyed, but that must be balanced with the mandate to prevent ecological harms.
ItSA国际影视传媒檚 one reason BellSA国际影视传媒檚 organization advocates for expanding CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 network of protected areas SA国际影视传媒� to provide more room for recreation and habitat protection as human populations swell and wild spaces become less wild.
But itSA国际影视传媒檚 challenging to balance all those factors.
Restoring balance will take time
Kira Hoffman, a fire ecologist and researcher with the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, says restoring balance on the landscape isnSA国际影视传媒檛 going to happen overnight.
SA国际影视传媒淭he situations that weSA国际影视传媒檝e seen in British Columbia and Alberta and throughout Canada in the last seven or so years have been the accumulation of many things that have gone wrong,SA国际影视传媒� she says.
According to BC Parks, 13 provincial parks were closed in early August due to wildfires, with another three partially closed. In Alberta, only one provincial park was closed as of Aug. 1, while 12 have been impacted by fires this year, according to data collected by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. They include Jasper and Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta.
Hoffman says many provinces are taking more proactive approaches, including supporting Indigenous-led fire stewardship and cultural burning, but more needs to be done at a larger scale.
In many ways, Parks Canada is ahead of the curve when it comes to fire management in Canada, she adds.
SA国际影视传媒淧arks Canada probably has the most advanced fire program out of anyone,SA国际影视传媒� she says, including the use of prescribed burns.
SA国际影视传媒淭hey get a lot of pushback and I feel for them, because theySA国际影视传媒檝e done so much. And theySA国际影视传媒檝e done it on their own before the provinces really came into the picture.SA国际影视传媒�
Parks Canada says it initiated eight prescribed burns in six different areas in 2023, burning 5.3 square kilometres across Canada. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 cumulatively less than one per cent of Jasper alone, by comparison, but the agency notes planning for those fires can take years, with consultations and peer review SA国际影视传媒� and then waiting for the right weather conditions at the right time to move forward with a burn.
Martel says prescribed burns focus on areas that canSA国际影视传媒檛 be allowed to burn out of control, including Jasper. He notes the personnel who light controlled fires are the same called on to fight wildfires.SA国际影视传媒漈hese fire seasons are getting longer SA国际影视传媒� they start earlier, they end later,SA国际影视传媒� he says. SA国际影视传媒淎nd so then it doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 leave us much for a window to make progress on prescribed fires.SA国际影视传媒�
In the off-season, the agency focuses on building fire breaks and removing vegetation that could pose a greater fire risk.
BC Parks has a program dedicated to fire management, focusing on wildfire planning, prevention and cultural and prescribed burns. The parks branch also conducts regular assessments of hazard trees and tailors approaches to each individual park, a spokesperson said in an email.
A spokesperson for the Alberta government did not respond to questions by publication time. On Aug. 1, the government listed two prescribed burn projects on its website.
Hoffman says, SA国际影视传媒渓etting fires burn under more moderate fire conditionsSA国际影视传媒� helps clear out fuel on the landscape. The challenge, she says, is that wildfires are happening under extreme conditions. Exacerbated by climate change, they can spread rapidly.
Deeply ingrained public perceptions need to shift, Hoffman says. A greater acceptance of prescribed burns as a tool to prevent fire and more education to overcome concerns about them is necessary, she adds.
SA国际影视传媒擝y Drew Anderson, Matt Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Narwhal
