what I learned about wildfires

 In September 2020, my cousins and I took a road trip to the West Coast of Canada from Toronto. When we got to British Columbia we noticed that much of the sky was blanketed by a thick haze. The reason for this was because of the wildfires happening down south in Washington and California. I started to get more curious about these wildfires and wanted to learn a little bit more about them. After doing more research I was surprised to find out how beneficial wildfires were for a forest's ecosystem. Unfortunately, these uncontrolled fires happening down south burned a lot more than needed.

Wildfires are an important part of a forest's ecosystem, and contrary to popular belief, they are also ecologically beneficial to them. They renew the growth in a forest by thinning out the shadow-causing trees, allowing more light to seep through, resulting in the re-growth of a more fair forest ecosystem.

Controlled burns, adopted from Indigenous practices, are one of the extra precautions taken to reduce the amount of fuel (dead wood) that is available when a wildfire strikes. During a prescribed burn, a specific area of land that is deemed the most ecologically appropriate is set aflame in an extremely cautious and managed setting. These fires help to achieve air quality and climate action targets, by preventing large wildfires. The large wildfires are instead replaced with more frequent, well-timed and well-planned low intensity fires.

But here's the thing, Earth is getting warmer and the boreal forests in the West Coast are met with dryer conditions making these “controlled” burns much more difficult to control. Weather conditions for a controlled burn are only optimal for a few days out of the year, and it is estimated that the number of burn days are progressively getting shorter as the planet continues to warm. Our boreal forest fires are already getting more intense and our wildfire seasons are getting longer. If we are no longer able to help manage them, we will be met with raging wildfires unlike any other before.

Climate change is a very complex problem and we need to see a more globally coordinated response involving strong international policies, agreements between countries, and requirements for renewable and clean energy. In this fight against climate change, local and regional efforts are just as vital. We need to continue to educate ourselves and others about our actions that contribute to climate change. This is not up for debate, climate change is happening right now.

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