Researchers expect year-long fire seasons in northwestern Canada

CBC News
September 25, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Federal officials and researchers say elevated levels of drought across the country are making wildfire seasons longer — particularly in northwestern Canada. At a technical briefing on Wednesday, researchers from several federal departments sharing their findings for this year said higher-than-normal drought levels are driving fire behaviour year-round, and fires are expected to burn at least until the winter in the Northwest Territories, northern Alberta and B.C. Yan Boulanger, a federal forest ecologist, said although fire behaviour is winding down across the country, the federal government will need to shift to a year-round fire management strategy. “We must continue to be vigilant against fires starting all year round,” he said. “We need to shift away from viewing wildland fires simply as seasonal events and move toward the concept of a continuous fire year.”

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