alberta wildfires - canada Flashcards
what is the landscape of Alberta
natural landscape is the boreal forest
what characterises does the boreal forest provide
low moisture content
high resin content to protect trees from disease - highly flammable
what is Albertas population
4 million
what does Alberta produce
produces conventional oil
3rd largest proven oil reserve at 170 billion barrels
what was the nickname of the wildfire in fort Murray
the beast
when was the fire
may 2016
where did the fire take place
across parts of Canadas Alberta provenance
how many people were evacuated
90 000
how many hectares of land was burned
600 000 hectares
Canadas most costly hazard
the cause of the fire remains unknown
what are some of the factors causing the fire to spread
ember spotting
weather conditions - fire was under control but a shift in the wind resulted in a blaze . conditions before the fire were favourable . lack of snow and high temps , dry vegetation
climate change - El Niño - could have resulted in the unusual dry and warn spring conditions . climate change suggests earlier springs could lengthen the wildfire season period
what were the environmental impacts in fort McMurray
fire intensity effected the boreal forest ecosystem
dry scorched soils can easily reignite
fires released lots of co2
toxins reseed from trees and buildings pollutes the air
ash washed into water pollutes it
lots of food waste
social impact from the fire
90,000 forced to flee fort mc Murray
2400 homes and other buildings burned down
jobs and livelihoods affected
levels of anxiety about the future increased
water supplies contaminated
economic impacts
$9 billion Canadian dollars of damage
1/3 of workers in oil industry evacuated
shell in Canada temporarily shut down
political impacts
debates about climate change fire season lengthened
oversea evacuation programes
reconstruction for buildings and infrastructure
what were the 5 main responses to the fire and were they short or long term responses
mass evacuation - short
government state of emergency - short
support of evacuees - short
rebuilding - long
fundraising - long
why was there a lack of deaths
because of mass evacuation
90, 000 were evacuated
aircrafts used to evacuate oil workers
government state of emergency
this triggered support from Canadian armed forces , helicopters , water bombers , fire fighters were bought from neighbouring states
Russia , USA and Australia gave help
how were evacuees supported
Canadian $1250 was provided per adult by the government
landlords offered reduced rates
Red Cross has received $50 million
rebuilding
prime minister offered long term aid to help Clear and rebuild
fundraising
fire aid
raised money for those affected
