On August 21st of 2003, a random fire broke out in the Crowsnest Pass Mountains. This fire evolved into a seasonal wildfire, and soon progressed into a giant forest fire. The wall stretched 6km and reached a height of 50 meters. The force of the fire was equivalent to an atomic explosion every 30 minutes
At 10am on Saturday the 23rd authorities told Elaine Hruby, a local resident evacuate. After putting her cat, dog and random memorabilia in her car Hruby then drove about 20 km west along the valley, sat down on a rock ledge overlooking1,359-m-high Crowsnest Pass and watched the flames veer down 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.”
Beginning What began as a random fire soon escalated into a giant wall of flame.
Evacuation On August 23rd, the Hamlet of Hillcrest was evacuated. “I didn’t know what to take” “you start doing crazy things” -Elaine Hruby (local resident forced to evacuate )
Aftermath The Crowsnest Fire of 2003 burned 20,000 hectares of forest. (A view from the International Space Station)
Aftermath The Spray Lakes Sawmill was able to salvage some of the burnt lumber The sawmill company was allowed 28% of the annual allowable salvage rights. This slightly lessened the impact of the forest fire.
Today While forest fires seem to only have a negative impact on the environment and economy, burned areas create ecological diversity and allows for the development of new, rich undergrowth.
Here is a revised version of a powerpoint presentat more
Here is a revised version of a powerpoint presentation that was not formatted properly.
This version is very simplified with supplementary notes to be presented orally. Also, the animations I added are not expressed on this site, hence the overlapping images. less
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