Another west coast wildfire is burning through thousands of acres. This time, however, the fire is to the north: western Canada. Thousands of people have had to evacuate their homes, as over 90 fires are burning in the province of Alberta alone. According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, 25% of these fires are expected to continue to grow. It is likely that more people will be displaced as the fires rage on.
So far, the fires have burned across Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, and as of Monday, May 15th, over 1,800 square miles have burned: ten times the average area burned during this point in the fire season, says the NASA Earth Observatory. The increase in fire size and severity is due to unprecedented drought conditions in the West. The wildfires are causing a deterioration in air quality, with several cities throughout Alberta being declared at the highest risk level as determined by Canada’s Air Quality Health Index. Winds have brought smoke and decreased air quality to parts of southern Canada and even North Dakota and Minnesota. Smoke is expected to linger and increase over the next week.
A smoke column rises from wildfire EWF031 near Lodgepole, Alberta, Canada May 4, 2023.
Alberta Wildfire | Reuters
Oil drilling is common in these areas, and we are seeing the impacts the fires have had on the oil industry. Drilling has had to pause in some places, and according to Rystad Energy, “Nearly 2.7 million barrels of daily oil sands production in Alberta is in ‘very high’ or ‘extreme’ wildfire danger zones.” A consequence of this has been an increase in oil prices. People in Alberta specifically can expect to see increased prices while the fires continue as drilling has had to pause due to concerns with the blaze.
The dry season is a natural part of the West’s ecosystem, and wildfires can be natural. However, the increase in fires over recent years has had a clear accelerant: climate change. As the planet warms and ecosystems change accordingly – as well as unprecedented droughts that can be attributed to shifting climate – fires will continue to burn longer and reach further than we have previously seen.