Alberta Wildfire Flashcards
What are the characteristics of an eruption by a strombolian/composite volcano?
Thick magma, large, cone shaped, violent explosions, more frequent, short flows or lava.
What is the definition of a natural hazard?
Extreme natural events that can cause loss of life, extreme damage to property and disrupt human activities.
List 3 primary impacts of a tsunami
Loss of life, damage to infrastructure and damage to the environment.
Which town was engulfed by the fire?
Fort McMurray
How long was the fire smouldering for?
8 months afterwards
How many buildings were destroyed?
2400 buildings
How much land was impacted by the fire?
590,000 hectares of land
What were the estimated costs?
$5.3 billion
How many people were evacuated?
88,000 people
How long until first people could return?
1 month
What caused the fire?
Manmade but no evidence it was deliberate
Causes and contributary factors:
The fire was a crown fire and made up of multiple fires, started in a remote area south-west of Fort McMurray, the fire was under control until the wind shifted direction, This caused the first to move towards Fort McMurray (the largest town in Alberta), thermally enhance imagery, shows erratic spread, spotting, fire jumped 1km distances over the river in some locations and created problems for controlling the fire
What were the weather conditions?
Lack of winter snowfall, early snow melt, warmer than average temperatures, April was very hot and low humidity
What is the science behind the explosive McMurray wildfire and how the inferno is creating its own weather?
Fort McMurray saw about 60% of its average precipitation January-April 2016. In addition, just four-hundredths of an inch of precipitation had fallen April 14 May 3rd, 2016
Name things that can make the hazards worse for the inhabitants of an area at risk.
Population growth, urbanisation, absence of choice and changing the degree of a hazard
What triggered the Mt St Helens eruption in 1980?
An injection of magma at shallow depth below the volcano
Give an example of preparedness after a tsunami.
Tsunami warning systems, education programmes, practice drills and evacuation plans
Give an example of how volcanic eruptions can be predicted.
monitor changes using GPS, satellites, seismometers and gas detection
economic impacts
Most expensive natural disaster in Canadian history with estimated insured losses of £3.7 billion, total costs were approximately $9 billion, 14.6% of the national workforce in the oil and gas extraction industry work in this area and reduction of 25% of Canadas daily oil production
Social impacts
Evacuation of 90,000 people, 2400 homes and building burnt down, restricted movement - jobs affected, power supply disruption, water supplies contaminated due to untreated water used by firefighters and from the damaged properties, water had to be boiled until august 2016, anxiety about future and more fires in the future and 80% of town now rebuilt
Environmental impacts
Severe damage to forest ecosystem due to fire intensity, smouldering fires for long period due to thick peat layer, several tonnes CO2 released, air pollution incline mercury, lead and organic compounds, smoke reached the USA and Gulf of Mexico, contaminated water courses due to ash being washed of the land after heavy rain fall and large quantity of waste from damaged homes
Political impacts
Political debate about future risks and climate change, potentially lengthening of fire season, criticism of the government due to budget cuts in April 2016, government had to oversee evacuation liaise with emergency services, coordination of phased safe return of evacuees and coordination of reconstruction programmes, permissions etc
Immediate responses
Monitoring of the fire, using ground and satellite data, meteorological data used to forecast the likely direction of the fires track, fire warnings and emergency services on standby, mass evacuation programme, Alberta government declared state of emergency, triggering military support
Medium term responses
Clean up began in June and residents were allowed to return to begin cleaning up and rebuilding
How many different organisations/sectors are involved in the reporting?
Government agencies, fire departments, emergency management organisations, environmental monitoring agencies and media and communication outlets.
How would you describe the human impact of the fire?
Thousands forced to evacuate their homes, smoke causes respiratory issues and worsens air quality, damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure and trauma, anxiety and loss of personal belongings
Which town was most affected by the wildfire?
Fort McMurray
Describe the damage caused by the fire?
Thousands of homes and buildings destroyed in Fort McMurray, millions of hectares of forests and land burned, roads utilities and public facilities damaged and billions of dollars in losses, affecting industries like oil production
How many of the homes were destroyed in Beacon Hill?
70% of homes approximately 447 homes
Was the town totally engulfed by the fire?
No but Beacon Hill, Abasand and waterways suffered extensive damage with large proportions destroyed.
What were some of the evacuees accommodated?
In emergency shelters, community centres, schools and campgrounds
What were the eyewitness accounts describing?
Massive flames spreading quickly, dark smoke blanketing the sky making it hard to breath or see, chaos fast evacuations with traffic jams and people fleeing in panic, destruction of homes, trees and neighbourhoods consumed by fire and strangers helping each other during the crisis
What is the role of leading politicians during the reporting of the fire?
Providing updates sharing accurate and timely information with the public, ensuring resources mobilising funding and support for firefighting and recovery, supporting evacuees coordinating aid and assistance for displaced residents, reassuring the public offering leadership and calming fears during the crisis
What resources were sent by air force?
Sent water bombers and helicopters to help fight the fires
What were the different components of weather forecasters reports?
Wind conditions spreading the fire quicker, high temperatures contributing to fire intensity, low humidity increases fire risk, lack of rain or thunderstorms that could either help or worsen the situation and monitoring smoke levels and hazardous air for health advisories
What sort of notice were people given?
Evacuation orders to leave immediately in high-risk areas, warnings that evacuation could become necessary soon, instructions on evacuation routes, shelters and emergency contacts
How close were people to the flames when they were driving out of town?
Extremely close to the flames
Which important organisation was not in the news reports?
Alberta emergency management agency
How was social media used during the evacuation?
Sharing updates, coordinating help, spreading alerts and connecting families
