Urgent Need to Oppose Anti-Social Offensive
Government Irresponsibility as Wildfire Season Begins
Edmonton, June 28, 2023
After a devastating wildfire season in Canada in 2023 where 2.2 million hectares of forest were burned (22,000 square kilometres) and 38,000 people evacuated from their homes, wildfire season has already begun in both Alberta and British Columbia.
In BC, the Burgess Creek Wildfire, burning about 45 kilometres south of Quesnel, was estimated at 50 hectares on April 20, but by noon on April 21 it had grown to about 1,600 hectares. The Fire Information Officer at the Cariboo Fire Centre stated that 125 firefighters were expected on site to battle this one blaze. They have managed to slow its growth, and by April 25 the fire had grown to 1,800 hectares (18 square kilometres). Six other wildfires are burning and considered under control.
In Alberta there have been more than 205 wildfires in 2024, burning 755 hectares, more than three times the average area burned for this time of year. There are 63 active fires burning with all fires considered held or controlled as of April 26. People in the Peace River district, including all 260 inmates at the Peace River Correctional Centre, were evacuated earlier in April. Alberta Wildfire information officer Josée St-Onge says the fire risk is very high right now due to the dry and windy conditions across the province.
The
Alberta government acknowledged on April 24 that its
wildland
firefighting services would not be fully staffed until
May 15,
not
April 15 as announced in February. To put this in
perspective,
the
Slave Lake fire, which destroyed one third of the town of
the
same
name, began May 14. 2011. The
Fort McMurray fire, known as "the beast" which forced the
evacuation of
the entire city, began May 1, 2016. By May 6, 2023,
24,000
people throughout western Canada had
been evacuated, an ominous start to the unprecedented
2023 fire
season.
This irresponsible and alarming situation is not even the entire story. In February, Minister of Forests and Parks Todd Loewen announced that the government would increase the number of firefighters from 900 to 1,000, adding five teams of 20 people. However, as of April 24, there were only 749 firefighters and support personnel, with a best case scenario of 850 workers trained by May, 500 of whom are new and have no experience. In place of the inadequate increase in the number of firefighters announced, it now seems clear that there will be even fewer than last year, while the majority will have no experience.
None of this is unexpected. Unions representing the wildland firefighters have continued to sound the alarm about the acute crisis of recruitment and retention. Wildfire specialist and professor at Thompson Rivers University in BC, Mike Flannigan, said in August 2023 that the current number of firefighters across the country, about 5,500 according to a Reuters survey, is approximately 2,500 short of what is needed.
Fire is a natural part of the boreal forest ecosystem, but 21st century fires are different. Fueled by global warming and governments in the service of narrow private interests, they are burning hotter, spreading faster and happening more frequently, devouring vast tracts of land, and destroying thousands of homes and infrastructure. Fire management can no longer be based on bringing in crews from other parts of the country or even across the world. Rapid response to identify which fires need to be suppressed and quick action to do so when they are small is necessary. Wildland firefighters and their unions, scientists, Indigenous knowledge keepers, and local communities together have solutions to mitigate the destruction of the natural environment and protect communities. But governments turn a blind eye and block necessary measures, including ensuring the well-being of the wildfire fighters, nine of whom lost their lives last year.
The
inaction of the authorities reveals just how
irresponsible,
indifferent, incompetent, irrational and unfit to govern
they
are.
Those who rule on behalf of powerful private interests
are
blocking the
desperately needed measures to address the crisis of
recruitment
and
retention of wildland
firefighters which requires providing what the
firefighters
need. They
ignore the knowledge and even criminalize the practices
of the
Indigenous Peoples who have lived with fire in the
forests since
time
immemorial. The conclusions reached by the scientists who
are
studying
the changing nature of
fire in the 21st century are also rejected by the
"business as
usual"
outlook which prevails. The absence of political power in
the
hands of
the working class and people is immediate, and it is the
greatest
problem which has to be solved.
This article was published
in
Volume 54 Number 4 - April 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M540042.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca