Alberta Wildfire Case Study Flashcards
Name / location
Alberta wildfire
Covered 620 square miles of Alberta
When did it occur?
1st May - 12th July 2016 - some areas still smouldering until the following spring
Nature of hazard
Forced the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta’s history
Official cause not determined but suspected to be human caused.
The fire was first spotted by a helicopter forestry crew in a remote area 15km from Fort Mcmurray.
Initially the fire was controlled but a shift in wind direction resulted in spread to Fort Mcmurray
Weather and climate
At the time a hit dry air mass was in place over the northern Alberta, bringing record setting temperatures and winds.
El Niño cycle caused dry autumn and winter and same spring so less snow and earlier melting.
Intensity of fire created lightning leasing to ignition of additional fires in the area. Rare showing intensity of fire - positive feedback.
What were some social impacts?
No one killed or injured
2400 homes and businesses destroyed
90 000 residents had to evacuate
Increased levels of anxiety about future - fears that fires could become more frequent due to climate change.
What were some economic impacts?
Costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.
CAN$9 bn of damage to Fort McMurray.
25 000 evacuated from the tar sands industry.
600 work camps were destroyed by the fire.
1.2 million barrels of oil were lost per day for 14 days. This equates to a loss of $1 billion
Global price of oil effected
What were some environmental impacts?
600,000 hectares of land burned
Millions of tonnes of co2 released into atmosphere
Air pollution lead to contamination of water supplies. Mercury and lead found in Athabasca river.
Positive feedback loop - created lightning ignited other fires.
Habitat loss - 500 species loss habitat
What were some political impacts?
The fire fuelled debate about possible impacts of climate change and increased vulnerability in the future.
Government officials oversaw evacuation programmes and liaised with emergency services
What were some short term responses?
Careful monitoring of newly ignited fire using ground and satellite data
Government declared state of emergency and implemented the operations
3rd May - mass evacuation of 90,000 residents ordered
News coverage and social media used to update residents
Shelters and food offered to evacuees to meet their basic needs
What were some long term responses?
Evacuees given $1250 for adults and $500 for children by government to cover living expenses
Long term temporary shelters
public transport links repaired to encourage people to move about and stimulate economic development
