The trees helping fires spread and what to do about it
With Spain declaring an emergency, France seeking EU help and Canada dealing with more than 900 hot spots, wildfires are out of control. Monocultures and
With Spain declaring an emergency, France seeking EU help and Canada dealing with more than 900 hot spots, wildfires are out of control. Monocultures and climate change are partly to blame but can we stop the burning? Intense, relentless heat waves and prolonged drought have triggered another severe wildfire season across Europe this summer, with crews battling massive blazes in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the UK and even Norway. Similar conditions have also fueled fires in the United States and Canada. For weeks, hundreds of wildfires have ripped throughout the vast boreal forest stretching from the Yukon in the north to Newfoundland in the east. As of July 24, they've wiped out at least 3.3 million hectares (8.1 million acres) — an area larger than Belgium. As toxic smoke shrouded major cities, also in the US, President Donald Trump accused Canada on social media of "not properly maintaining their Forests" and deliberately neglecting "basic Forest Management and Debris Removal." 'No one-size-fits-all' solution While eliminating flammable fuel is part of the job for fire experts, effective management goes beyond just clearing debris. And in Canada, clearing brush from such an extensive, remote area would be impossible. "There is no one-size-fits-all" solution, said Amy Duchelle, a senior forestry officer with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Smoke worsened air quality and cast an eerie light over cities in Canada and the US, including Toronto Image: Cole Burston/AFP "In forest and fire management, you have to work with the ecosystem type that you have by understanding its fire history," said Sophie Wilkinson, an assistant professor and wildfire expert at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. "There are many different ecosystem types, such as upland forests and wetlands, and each of those has a unique relationship with fire." But even though Canada's boreal forests have adapted to live with fire, Wilkinson said frequent extreme heat waves and extended droughts linked to human-caused climate change are drying out trees and undergrowth, "making managing wildfires infinitely more difficult." High-intensity fires are more likely to "spread more rapidly and burn more aggressively, both of which hinder management options and efficacy" — even in places previously too humid to burn. Tropical forests didn't evolve to coexist with fire — no thick, resistant bark or plants suited to germinate after a blaze. Here, it's crucial to stop deforestation linked to mining and agriculture, preserve the canopy and vegetation that creates the humid, fire-resistant habitat, and train people to immediately respond to any fire risk.
The BriefWire