Fire in the Crowsnest!!2003http://www.environment.uwaterloo.ca/planning/faculty/stone/images/fire.jpg

In 2003, the“Lost Creek Fire”burned over20,000hectares of forest andthreatened thousandsin the towns below

What happened. . .A seasonal wildfire exploded with a directional change in the windThis transformed a random, seasonal fire into a 6km wall of fire that reached 50m into the sky

The fire threw off energy equivalent to an atomic explosion every 30 minutes

The after effects included an impact on:The economyThe environmentThe residents

The economy

The environment

The residents

And with each result came an equal, opposing effect

Some businesses suffered while others experienced profit. . . .Tourism and timber industries were hard hit. . . .. . . gas stations, dry cleaners and salvage sawmills maintained steady profits

The natural landscape was drastically changed. .. . .Burnt areas are unsightly and appear devoid of life. . . Yet burnt areas of forest allow for new, rich undergrowth that wasn’t present before

Residents were forced to evacuate from their homes. . .. . .but even though the fire was devastating, it was fascinating to watch. . . .

“I felt masochistic, sitting on the outcropping. . . . but those flames were like a magnet” – Elaine Hruby, resident of Hillcrest

With every natural disaster, there areboth positive and negativeresultsthat influence the economy, the environment and the community of the surrounding area.