how did the fort mcmurray fire affect the environment

According to the climate record from McMurray airport, the summer starts from May with the average temperature of 9.8°C calculated by the data between 1981and 2010. During the time, air and water quality was evaluated firstly by the monitoring program of the Government of Alberta, along with the regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association [19]. ‘To put this into perspective, it’s equivalent to about 12 per cent of the annual emissions from all other sectors in Canada. A Mountie stands in the middle of a hard-hit Fort McMurray neighbourhood affected by the wildfires of May 2016. Join the thousands following us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and stay informed about the world. Thousands hectares of forest area and a huge number of Athabasca oil sands, one of the three major oil sands deposits of bitumen and extremely heavy crude oil, in Alberta, were further destroyed with the expanding of wildfire Fort McMurray is famous for its Athabasca oil sand which is the largest oil sands deposit in the world (143×10 9 m 3 in total). Though normally very wet, Fort McMurray is relative dry and hot in summer, and its weather is becoming more extreme because of climate change. We could have another fire this size, anytime in the summer’. Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) to determine causal effect of the Fort McMurray wildfire on their monitors (see Attachment 1). City officials have said treatment costs increased 50 per cent after the fire. . The whole Boreal forest is located in a flat plain with few hills. [15]Moreover, people in Alberta believe that they have the potential to be the the leading energy provider in the world. The arsonists of Fort McMurray have a name. Rebuilding of the lost assets promoted more economic and social activities than before[7]. Funds for rebuilding compensate the lost capitals, and provide many employment positions for the returned residents. These conifer trees have high concentration of resin, which are susceptible to fire. In the Alberta tar sands town of Fort McMurray, which was nearly destroyed by fire in 2016, Silins and his colleague, Monica Emelko, a University of Waterloo environmental engineer, have been helping the city cope with the high amounts of dissolved organic carbon and sediment that continue to challenge the municipal water treatment plant. According to the statistics in 2016, fires in Canada’s boreal forest burn an average of 2 million hectares of forest every year[3]. As discussed above, the 2016 Fort McMurray Fire is one of the severest and costliest natural disaster in Canadian history[1]. Probably these programs have not shown an obvious effect as people surviving from Fort McMurray Fire are highly alert to wildfire. released millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere and destroyed natural habitats RCMP photo. This city is surrounded by boreal forest and 2 main rivers: Athabasca river and Clear Water river. The highest temperature is around 17°C and the mean precipitation is 36.5mm (33.5mm in rainfall and 3.5mm in snowfall each). The connection between employees and employers should be paid attention to. Fort McMurray, located in a beautiful service area with vast oil sands deposit in northeast of Alberta, is surrounded by peatlands and boreal forests of aspen and spruce. Dan Healing, The Canadian Press, CP The large amount of CO2 released by the burning increased the “greenhouse” effect in Fort McMurray area[4]. Due to the burning in forests areas, about 500 species lost their habitats and now living in danger due to the fire contamination[4]. During the … The climate change was considered to be the direct effect to this disturbance. The Fort McMurray wildfire became one of Canada’s worst natural disasters. Figure 1-2: Typical wildland/urban interface scenario at Fort McMurray ..... 8 Figure 2-1: Wildland/urban interface fires initiate when wildland fire spreads to urban fuel. Dossier: Natural capital – should we put a price on nature? How can the McMurray burning be special on the Canada’s wildfire history? When the wildfire happened on May 1st 2016, the government implemented the emergency operations rapidly [19]. [8]Spruce, pine and aspen are the most common species in this area. However, it became a serious issue when it continually accumulated in the crowded communities where McMurray people living. Ecological professionals and fire management departments often see fire as a beneficial thing for maintaining the ecological values of forests[3]. These were kindled by a relative humidity well below 30 per cent and wind speeds of over 30 kilometres per hour. This huge amount of oil lost was translated to direct money lost, equaling roughly $985 million real GDP and 0.33 per cent out of Alberta’s GDP in 2016. On May 3rd, 2016[1], this event was described as the largest wildfire event in Alberta’s history. The life of thousands of residents in the area and the local environment were greatly destroyed by the fire. On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Athabasca River became a spot fire during this event[5]. During the long time evolution, these species and the ecosystem have adapted to wildfire. As people known, the development of oil sand industry in Alberta has promoted the economy of Alberta and Canada over decades[6]. Meanwhile, steady communication between the government and impacted sites was established [19]. 1 The Fort McMurray wildfire drops the overall GDP of Alberta to a negative value in the year of 2016. Starting in northeastern Alberta on May 1, 2016, the fire raged for two months. Want to access Geographical on your tablet or smartphone? In the reports of assessment of the Fort McMurray wildfire, released by the mid-May in 2016 in Ottawa, two major negative economic impacts are described in the following: The information above outlines some of the impacts associated with wildfire in Fort McMuray from the perspective of a natural resources conservation student. It became severer and began to spread across the northern part of Alberta and Saskatchewan[2]. . On May 1st, 2016 at 9:57pm (MDT), a wildfire began to sweep the Centennial Trailer Park and the neighborhoods of Prairie Creek and Gregoire at the southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Meanwhile, the provincial and municipal officers worked together to ensure the availability of essential services such as electricity in the area, then the re-entry program was implemented and re-cleaning was started to be conducted by residents [19]. Deep learning identifies more than 1.8 billion trees in the Sahara, Sahel and sub-humid zones, Spotlight on...Sabah, Malaysia – the last pocket of abundance, Worldwatch: The best of our column in 2020, Rebuilding Mosul: Hope on the horizon at the Al-Nouri Mosque, Spotlight on...Gorizia/Nova Gorica – a once divided Italo-Slovenian community, Spotlight on...Enguri River, Georgia's fractured tip, Warmer climates are changing the composition of boreal and temperate forests, Happiest alone: Europe’s semi-independent microstates, Spotlight on... St Kilda – those who leave and those who stay, Demand for products produced on the back of deforestation could drive malaria risk, Spotlight on...Tigray, Ethiopia: pathways to progress, Future cities - Data scientists pave the way to a clear vision of future urbanisation. The fire began in … ‘We saw similar scenarios with the Tasmania fires last January, which were so hot the soil burnt too,’ says Innes. Could fires this large and hot be the new normal for Canadian boreal forests? Viewed through the lens of other disciplines and professions, what other actors become relevant when considering recovery recommendations and preventative strategies to address costs and impact associated with wildfires? On May 6th the fire had grown to 10,100 Hectares and more Firefighters came to help. The wildfire spread cross 590,000 hectares (1500,000 acres) from the edge of the southwest of Fort McMurray to the northern Alberta, and finally stopped in Saskatchewan, a province with prairie and boreal that bordering the west of Alberta. Clear cutting speed up the climate change to create a more horrible climate for forest to live. To be specific, the government should implement a set of policies to encourage more individuals and charitable organizations to take part in the reconstruction of Fort McMurray area. Leading Alberta scientists say climate change likely contributed to the Fort McMurray wildfire. Nearly 8,000 residents had to move out of their quarters due to the severe contamination. Fort McMurray Fire's Economic Impact: $1 Billion In Oilsands Production Lost Fire will shave 1 per cent off of Alberta's GDP, but then boost it later. [10] According to the Fir Behavior Triangle, this large fire is not that hard to understand. A phased re-entry of residents began in early June 2016. The water storage ability has dropped down a lot because of losing plants. More than 88,000 residents fled their homes and more than 2,400 structures were damaged or destroyed. Summer drought is going to be a serious problem to all the species left in this area. What the government do is just to ensure the safety of basic living condition. However, considering of the safety of all residents in Fort McMurray area, it is still a rational and timely act [19]. While burnt-out homes and vehicles dominate visuals of the Fort McMurray devastation, much of the damage done by the enormous fire will be invisible. This region of Alberta is also … 2 Shutting down of the oil sand production actually slowed or even stopped the major economic activity of the oil production industry in Alberta. With a low moisture content and a high volume of resin for defence against disease, stems of trees in boreal forests are highly flammable. The rationale of this solution is the intensity and severity of the negative impacts of the disaster. Fires have been increasing in intensity in Canada’s northwest boreal forests. In order to reduce the frequency of disasters like wildfire, the government has been increasing the invest in mitigation of natural disasters and other public safety risks [19]. Early on, Feldstein saw that Fort McMurray residents were heavy Facebook users, and he built a social media presence for Alberta Fire Restoration. Although the fierce spreading of the wildfire was controlled in early July, smoldering fire still continued in Fort McMurray, Alberta. In terms of the policies about environment, the theme is to monitor the long-term environmental impacts and to mitigate potential risks [19]. As a result, air pollution leads to a huge negative impact on human and animals’ health. Post image: Wild fire spreads in Fort McMurray. What other costs and/or impacts become apparent when wildfire is viewed through the lens of other disciplines and professions? Since the oil sands are stored below the ground surface, the most useful way to get the oil sands is digging them and extracting while the precondition of using this method is clear cutting all the plants above the ground. In addition, other pollutants also need monitoring in order to avoid any potential negative impacts on residents. And this trend was kept to 2016, caused by the high temperature with low precipitation in 2016. The economic activities and social development of Fort McMurray were impacted and even paused in a long period as well. Fort McMurray is a beautiful urban area which covers 59.89 km² in the northeast of Alberta, Canada. EDMONTON, Alberta — The costliest disaster in Canada’s history, the Fort McMurray fire, also called the Horse River fire, forced an estimated 88,000 people to evacuate and caused .9 billion (Canadian) in damage. A new, double-sided world map projection seeks to minimise the…, Water scarcity is predicted to rise – two experts share…, New collaborative research from the University of Oxford and the…. It is a trend, in part, that parallels warmer temperatures brought by climate change. The fires became the largest insured natural catastrophe ever recovered in Canada. And it is the only possible way for the government to fill the deficit between the need of resources for the post-disaster recovery and what the government can provide. Informative, authoritative and educational, this site’s content covers a wide range of subject areas, including geography, culture, wildlife and exploration, illustrated with superb photography. Therefore, more support for mental health care were needed from society. [9], However, the max temperature in 1st May in last year was 27.3°C, which is much higher than the historic records. Like longer reads? Click here for an interactive map (Image: NRC). Those interested in contributing to this case study may use the following questions as a guide: However, there is always another loss that cannot be calculated by these statistics. . Waste in the natural areas like forests would not greatly influence people’s daily life in Fort McMurray area. Warzecha, M. (2016). One thing that is worth being happy during this disaster is that the depressions mood among stricken people in Fort McMurray did not bring a lot of negative impacts on economic and social activities. Up to 9 billion dollars in anticipated […] ‘We have very preliminary estimates of around 89 million tons of CO2 released,’ Werner Kurz, a forest carbon scientist at Natural Resources Canada, tells Geographical. Flannigan is also among a number of the scientists whose research was featured in a climate change assessment of Canadian forests published by the federal government’s Natural Resources Department in 2009.

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