Wildfires are changing – experts say our response should as well

Its been a problem impacting Canadians from coast to coast all summer, and Ontario is no exception.

Canada sees some 8000 wildfires each year posing a direct threat to many communities, and countless more from the smoke that spreads across the country.

They’re a problem that’s been not just growing over the past few years, but changing as well.

That’s according to Dr. Vinny Gupta, an assistant professor at the University of Waterloos Fire Research Lab.

One component of the change comes from climate change, with heat waves and droughts creating hotter and drier conditions for fires to start and to spread.

But Gupta says people are playing a part too not just from fires started, but also with our presence as development occurs into more forested areas.

“If there are more people in the interface between forests and urban environments more people are inherently affected,” Gupta said while appearing on the Mike Farwell Show. “What were even seeing is that structures and buildings within these kinds of communities are contributing to the overall severity of these wildfire events also.”

As we continue to build and grow closer to forests, Gupta says its important to take note of what kind of building materials are used, especially in terms of the arrangement of combustible materials in higher risk areas.

Also of note is the use of technology to help out, from unmanned water bombers to the use of AI to help with early fire detection.

Gupta also makes note that not all wildfires are bad, and some can be used to help with combatting blazes overall.

“For millions of years fires have been quite useful to clearing of forests and overgrowth. So we need to try and identify early on which wildfires are problematic and which ones pose threats to given communities,” he says.

They’re all part of the larger process of how to tackle fires in general, and what ways to best combat them as the continue to effect Canadians moving forward.