OV E R V I E W 202 3
CANADA STANDING TOGETHER BY HEATHER SIMPSON
Canada faced extraordinary challenges in 2023 as wildfires raged across the nation, shattering records and pushing resources to their limits. As temperatures soared and the relentless flames burned hectares of land, the country bore witness to a remarkable display of national and international solidarity, the undeniable impact of climate change, and the fortitude of its fire management community. In the eye of this unprecedented storm stands the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), an organization with more than 40 years of experience co-ordinating wildfire management resource movement across the country. This year has proven to be unlike any other in CIFFC’s history. As autumn approached, Canadians finally began to comprehend the magnitude of what had transpired. The estimate of the national hectares burned by fire exceeded 17 million (42 million acres), a number that may still evolve as more accurate mapping becomes available. That the previous record of ~7.5 million, set in 1989, was shattered in June speaks volumes to the magnitude of the season. For perspective, this year’s burned area surpassed the combined landmass of Switzerland and Greece, akin to the size of Uruguay or the state of Florida. While wildfires are a natural part of Canada’s ecosystem, the scale of the resource demand
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this season was unparalleled, quickly challenging national capacity. Resource demands were initiated in Alberta, where an early and aggressive spring fire season forced the province to declare a provincial state of emergency on May 6. Unusually high temperatures coupled with strong winds and a lack of precipitation set the stage for a record-breaking season. Alberta was not alone in facing unprecedented challenges. Six of CIFFC’s 13 member agencies (provinces and territories) saw their burn areas exceed their 10-year averages by factors ranging from five to 30 times. Member agencies that didn’t have record-breaking seasons were often unable to offer extensive assistance to their neighbours. Canadian parks were not spared either, as Parks Canada faced a consistently high fire load that produced six times the 10-year average burn areas. Quebec experienced a remarkable season, with a colossal hectare-burned record that surpassed the combined totals of the previous two decades. As swaths of Quebec burned, there were widespread evacuations. Smoke from Quebec and other regions blanketed cities to the south, causing air quality concerns, event cancellations, and flight delays. In Nova Scotia, one blaze became the province’s most damaging, resulting in the evacuation of
