The out-of-control wildfire burning near Sambaa K’e, N.W.T., is immense.
Having grown in explosive and unexpected fashion from 68,000 hectares to 265,000 hectares as of Thursday evening over a matter of days — the burned area in the N.W.T. covers a swath of land nearly 24 times the size of Yellowknife, and three times the size of Calgary.
It represents 41 per cent of the nearly 600,000 hectares that burned in last year’s fire season in the N.W.T.
The Sambaa K’e wildfire forced residents to flee more than a week ago and has indirectly burned down one home. It’s one of 21 fires in the territory so far that have contributed to what Mike Westwick, a wildfire information officer for the N.W.T. government, described as an “extraordinary start to the season.”
Wildfires will start as early as May, said Westwick, but they often stay smaller because the ground is cold, there’s more moisture in the environment, and there aren’t long spells of heat.
“That was certainly not the case this year,” he said.
May brought record-breaking temperatures to the N.W.T, and Westwick said there’s a drought in parts of the territory’s Dehcho and South Slave regions — conditions that cause a fire to burn deep and hot, and make it hard to put out.
N.W.T. on its way to passing 10-year average
The wildfire season in the N.W.T. will carry on for months to come and already, in early June, 400,000 hectares of land have burned. That puts the territory well on its way to hitting the 600,000 hectares of land burned last year.
Baltzer calls that “certainly alarming.”
“I think we’re seeing this across the country. Most provinces and territories are seeing area burned that is far exceeding what they would experience at this point in the year, in a normal year,” she said.
The necessity of wildfire
Westwick and Baltzer both highlighted the importance of wildfire in the boreal forest.
Certain types of trees — jack pine and black spruce — need fire to open their cones and release their seeds, for example. Other types of plants with below-ground stems grow vigorously after a fire, said Baltzer.
And the bigger and more intense they are, the greater threat they can pose to communities in the N.W.T. and throughout Canada.
“We can change our course and everyone knows that,” said Baltzer, noting the number of high-emission industries within the country.
“Canada can become a leader in this and really make an impact in terms of global emissions.”
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