Crowsnest Fire final version

Crowsnest Fires
August 2003
Figure 1: Background image1

Crowsnest Fires
The Origin of the Fire
When: Aug. 2l, 2003.
Random seasonal wildfire
Changed direction and transformed into a giant fire.
Figure 2: Firelight2

Crowsnest fires
Features of the Fire
6-km wall of flame
reached 50 m into the sky,
Equivalent energy of an atomic explosion every 30 minutes.
Figure 3: Aerial image3

Crowsnest Firesan eye witness account
Home Alone: Elaine Hruby,
Husband up north in Fort McMurray.
At 10 a.m. authorities told her to leave. Immediately.
“I didn’t know what to take,” says Hruby, recalling her anxious departure, “You start doing crazy things.”

Hruby
Collected:
Cat, dog, mining lamp, her jewelry (but not his), and a little plastic Buddha.
Mezmerized:
drove to lookout to watch fire
From her vantage point could watch the fire descend on Hillcrest
Despite her horror, she couldn’t stop looking

“I felt masochistic, sitting on the outcropping,” Hruby recalls, “But those flames were like a magnet.”
Figure 4 Forest fire4

Crowsnest Firesthe fallout
Crowsnest Fire blaze (2003)
burned over 20,000 hectares of forest
Affecting:
Timber industry, local businesses, tourism (especially hard hit
But
local dry cleaners, gas stations, restaurants and office services maintained a steady business.

Crowsnest Firesthe fallout
Example: Spray Lake Sawmills
Benefits:
able to use a significant amount of the burnt lumber.
With large salvage quota (28%) able to ensure burnt lumber not wasted
Difficulties:
Root scorch
cost of accessibility
Debarking dilemma
burnt bark is not useable but de-barking the trees will keep the chips clean and reduce the carbon content.

Crowsnest Firesthe fallout: Ecological Pros and Cons
Positive
Certainly a burned area is black and looks devoid of life.
A burned area creates ecological diversity and allows for the development of rich undergrowth that wasn’t there before.
Negative
Over time burned area creates diversity that wasn’t there before
Large stands of timber smother the light and inhibit undergrowth – even though large stands of trees are aesthetically pleasing and profitable for the lumber industry.

Crowsnest firesGraphic sources
Figure #:
Image obtained from:Jason Knight. (2003). Lost Creek Fire, Looking South: July 2003, [Online Image]. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from: http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/geog376/students/class06/fire/lost_creek_fire_south.jpg/
Image obtained from: Jason Knight. (2003). Hillcrest Fire: August 2, 2003, [Online Image]. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from: http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/geog376/students/class06/fire/hillcrest.jpg
Image obtained from: Jason Knight. (2003). Ridge Forest Fire, [Online Image]. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from: http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/geog376/students/class06/fire/ridge_forest_fire.jpg
Image obtained from: Photographer unknown. (2007). Special 2 Me: Damage Control vs teaching, [Online Image]. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from: http://specialedandme.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/forest-fire.jpe?w=310&h=192

Crowsnest Fire final version

by mdaele on Sep 18, 2009

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Crowsnest Fire final version — Presentation Transcript