By: Jonah Lazar, Staff Writer
For many people in the north of Turtle Island (Canada), the summer has become synonymous with the fire season. Forest fires wipe out entire towns and have displaced thousands across the country, leaving many communities wondering when it will be their turn. Over the past five decades, there’s been twice as much land victim to wildfire in northern Turtle Island, and it has been commonplace for these fires to cross over into towns and people’s homes. Three years ago, nearly 50,000 people were evacuated from their homes in a record-breaking fire season in BC. On July 7, the Namaygoosisagagun (Collins) First Nation, were forced to evacuate with only minutes of notice. They did not receive any warnings from the provincial or federal government. Indigenous communities have been disproportionately affected by these fires and are “33% more likely to evacuate from a wildfire.” Many of these communities have not been equipped to fight these fires effectively. Various First Nations groups have called for additional equipment, like fire trucks, upgrades such as water systems, and increased funding.
The climate is changing, and one of the more drastic, direct impacts that this change has had on northern Turtle Island is the increase in forest fires. In the record fire season of 2023, 93% of the area set ablaze in northern Turtle Island came from lightning strikes. This wasn’t an anomalous year — in fact, this is a taste for what is to come. Increased lightning activity is directly related to climate change; higher average summertime temperatures caused by increased CO2 in the atmosphere mean that the updrafts are far stronger, and hotter air retains more moisture. This leads to fewer but more intense summer storms, with an estimated 12% increase in lightning strikes per 1 degree celsius of temperature increase.
What makes matters worse is the government’s approach to forest fires. It has predominantly been to fight them head on, with a priority on containment and fire suppression, an approach where minimizing fires is the biggest concern. In previous decades when we consistently had more temperate summers and less intense forest fires, this approach worked to some extent. However, there is now a dangerous collection of dead wood in our forests, which are pure jet fuel for any potential fires. With the increased lightning frequency brought on from climate change, and the copious amounts of fuel left dry on the forest floors, fires have become an inevitability.
Indigenous communities across Turtle Island (North America) and South America, as well as Australia, have traditional fire management practices; controlled burns. These burns are carefully started to preempt an uncontrolled fire. These controlled burns are planned when the weather would help in ensuring that the fire wouldn’t grow out of control. These tactics are not just effective in reducing out of control fires, but also beneficial for the environment as it regenerates the soil with nutrient rich ash, promoting ecological growth.
Vast bodies of knowledge of the practice has been lost due to generations not being permitted to practice controlled burning.
Controlled burns, however, were banned by the BC government in 1874 through the implementation of the Bush Fire Act — the colonial government incorrectly viewed these burns as damaging to timber. While some burning is now allowed, albeit heavily restricted, the current controlled burning falls far short from what experts view as needed in BC’s fight against wildfires. Since then, vast bodies of knowledge of the practice has been lost due to generations not being permitted to practice controlled burning.
Continuing down the colonial approach of firefighting will not work in the modern reality of climate change. Intense storms caused by warmer temperatures and prolonged droughts through the summer months will only lead to more of a fire risk, and the current approach of fire suppression is not keeping up. It’s time to begin crafting alternative ways of fire control, and utilizing Indigenous fire management systems is a great place to start.
