The threat of wildfire has been a hot topic throughout the news over the past several years. Wildfires can be a result of either natural causes ( i.e. lightning ) or human causes (i.e. fireworks ). Regardless of the cause, the severity of a fire is dictated by the fuel availability and environmental conditions. The fuel in a forest fire can be the trees themselves but increasingly it is the dry underbrush and natural debris as well as standing or fallen deadwood that contribute to the severity and controllability of fires. Communities at the interface of large forested areas are most at risk because infrastructure is usually surrounded by natural fire fuel. Here in Haliburton County, Ontario, we are considered an “interface community" as we build our homes and neighborhoods within forests. Being surrounded by nature is the charm of living in interface communities. However, there are certain things the community members must be aware of in order to live peacefully with nature. Fire awareness is something those living in cities or on farms are less concerned with. There is simply minimal forested area meaning there is less natural fire fuel.
The 2023 fire season caused a record breaking amount of damage to private and public property in interface communities across the country, including here in Haliburton. As the peak of the 2024 fire season is fast approaching, Haliburton County municipalities have implemented a fire restriction bylaw, eliminating day-time burning [1,2]. With good reason, some residents are frustrated with these restrictions. Concerns over rising municipal dump prices for yard and wood waste disposal are valid. This makes property management more costly. However, restrictions such as these are necessary to prevent high intensity, uncontrollable fires caused by human activities [3]. These recent high intensity fires have been studied, and research suggests that municipal burning restrictions alone will not be enough to protect interface communities due to the unfavorable environmental and situational conditions of Canadian forests.
Why is the risk of wildfires increasing each year?
Wildfires are a natural phenomenon that have historically shaped the forested landscape we know and love. Fire reduces competition for sunlight, nutrients, water and space, which are all necessary for the growth of a healthy, diverse forest ecosystem [4]. Controlled, low intensity fires have been used for centuries to maintain sustainable forests. Proof of these historical controlled burns can be observed in the rings of ancient trees (fig. 1). A controlled burn is essentially preemptively “fighting fire with fire”. Low intensity surface fires will remove dry vegetation and reduce potential fire fuels, creating mosaic-like forests that are sustainable in future disasters [4].
Since the early 1900’s, the use of controlled fires was reduced and fire suppression became the paradigm adopted by governments. This is due to a lack of resources and funding for wildfire and forest management [5]. Fire suppression alone allows for a build up of loading fuels (aka natural debris and standing or fallen deadwood). Dense growth and significant loading fuels create high intensity fires. These are incredibly difficult to manage once started and can spread in the blink of an eye due to excess loading fuels. Healthy trees naturally benefit the environment by absorbing and cycling water throughout a forest. Healthy forests with low density, diverse growth and intermittent fire breaks will withstand a low intensity fire with no problem. There is very little moisture in dead wood and debris so these unmanaged forests are more susceptible to high intensity fires.
Climate change is adding to the severe risk of wildfires by increasing tree death through drought and disease. An example of this scenario is California. California experienced severe drought from 2012-2016, killing tens of thousands of trees, and causing stress to millions more (6). Those trees that died from the dry conditions are a direct fire fuel, while the stressed trees were left highly susceptible to disease and consequently died from a bark beetle infection. As a result, forests across California were littered with acres and acres of deadwood and severely lacked water availability. This created the perfect conditions for high intensity fires. In 2020, the unsustainable forests of California experienced the worst fires since 1850 [7]. Over 4 millions acres burned, which is 10x the historical average, leaving a wake of disaster in its tracks [7]. With global climates continuing to increase 2x faster than the historical averages [5], the forests are unable to adapt to the changing conditions fast enough. At this rate, tree mortality from climate change will continue to be an environmental problem for years to come, consequently increasing the risk of disastrous wildfires globally. Evidence from 2023 includes here in Canada, where 18 million hectares of forest burned; in Greece, which recorded the largest fire ever in Europe; as well as in Hawaii, where much of Maui was lost [8].
Wildfire preparedness
Canadian wildfire management is shared among federal, provincial and municipal governments. FireSmart Canada, a public safety initiative, was released in 1999 in hopes to spread awareness and prepare citizens and government agencies for wildfire risks [9]. The documents outline mitigation solutions, emergency measures, interface training and resources, while encouraging the sharing of situational information for both government and public awareness. However, implementation of FireSmart protocols are left to the discretion of municipalities wherein some cases budgets have severely restricted for fire-specific management. For example, Alberta and BC have provincially enforced FireSmart practices with specific agencies for wildfire management, while Ontario has a single agency for all natural disasters, including fire, flooding and soil erosion [5].
What can you do?
Defensible space is one FireSmart practice Alberta has strongly encouraged, providing fire risk inspections for residents to know how to properly reduce fire fuel from private property. Defensible space mitigates fuels surrounding residential structures based on the distance between forested areas and assets. Residential fire fuels include both dead and living vegetation, flammable liquids, lawn furniture, equipment, etc. [3]. Figure 3 shows how FireSmart Canada suggests defensible space should be managed based on zones [9]. The degree of forest management required decreases with increasing distance from structures (aka, zones closest to homes should be virtually clear of all potential fire fuel, while zones over 10 metres from structures should be managed to reduce hazards and deadwood). Creating defensible space around your home is the best way to protect your assets in a world where the threat of forest fires is continuously rising.
Government involvement
Currently, there are no bylaws mandating defensible space for residential or public property in Haliburton County, so it is left up to the homeowners to seek help themselves. This is a simple way for governments to “pass off the responsibility”. However, only 6% of Canadian forests are privately owned [5]. That means that even if every Canadian in interface communities managed personal property with defensible space, the remaining 94% of Canadian forests will be left at risk due to the limited government management. Wildfire preparedness and mitigation is costly, but the costs associated with the aftermath of a fire disaster are astronomical for both governments and residents. The total cost of the 2016 Fort McMurray Alberta fire was estimated to be $9 billion dollars [3]. This value increases if suppression, recovery, lost revenue, environmental impacts and remediation are also considered [5]. Essentially, a single high intensity, uncontrollable forest fire will decimate entire neighborhoods both physically and financially if nothing is done to mitigate the current risks.
To encourage innovations in fire and forest management, a new segment of science is being promoted that focuses on wildfire science. The hope is that with better understanding of these high intensity fires, governments can better predict fire risk and allocate resources appropriately.
What the community can do
It is unfortunate that the safety of our forests and communities are limited by finances, but we all know that money makes the world go ‘round. At some point, the government's hands are tied in terms of the amount of protection possible for public property. Private property management and personal wildfire preparedness is something in which everyone can participate, for their own well being, as well as the well being of our beloved interface communities. Maintaining proper defensible space on personal property and having evacuation plans in place are just a few FireSmart suggestions that could save your home, your trees, and your life. Defensible space not only protects your home from the wildfires, but also protects the forests from potential building fire. If you love living amongst the trees, do your part as an interface community member and at least be aware of the risk of wildfire. Do what you can with the information you have. Tell your family and friends, practice safe burning within the restrictions, make a plan. If not for the safety of your own home, do it for the safety of the forests!
To learn how TreeKings can help create defensible space at your cottage or home in Haliburton County, contact us through our website at www.treekingsarb.com.
For more information on wildfire preparedness and mitigation, visit www.firesmartcanada.ca
Resources
Baker, M. April 3, 2024. Burn Ban A Win. The Highlander. Burn ban a win | The Highlander
The Corporation of the Township of Minden Hills, by-law No. 24-36. By-law for regulating open air fires in the Township of Minden Hills.
Muffly, J., and Birchall, S.J. (2023) Key elements of defensible space land use bylaw provisions on wildland-urban interface municipalities of Alberta, Canada. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 96(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103988
Strong, N., Bevis, K., and Bracher, G. (2016) Wildlife-friendly fuels reduction in dry forests of the pacific northwest. Portland, OR: Woodland Fish and Wildlife Group.
Tymstra, C. et al. (2020) Wildfire management in Canada: Review, challenges, and opportunities. Progress in Disaster Science, 5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2019.100045
Hartmann, H., et al (2022) Climate change risks to global forest health: emergence of unexpected events of elevated tree mortality worldwide. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 73:673-702. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-102820-012804
Ayars, J., et al. (2023) The 2020 to 2021 California megafires and their impact on wildlife habitat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(48). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2312909120
Colden, C. et al. (2024) Wildfires in 2023. Natural reviews Earth and Environment, 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00544-y
FireSmart Canada (2003) Protecting your Community from Wildfire. Partners in Protection, Edmonton, Alberta. FireSmart-Protecting-Your-Community.pdf (firesmartcanada.ca)
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