Canada's Fort McMurray fire: mitigating global risks
Authors: Christopher D Simms
Journal: The Lancet Global Health (2016)

On May 1, 2016, a colossal forest fire began to sweep into Fort McMurray, a boomtown centred in the middle of the Alberta oil sands in Canada. Over the ensuing 3 weeks it grew to more than 3000 km2, forced the evacuation of 88 000 residents, destroyed thousands of homes and buildings, and is expected to negatively affect the gross domestic product. The fire is seen by many as another natural disaster linked to climate change, El Niño, and forest fragmentation. Furthermore, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Institute for Space Studies reported that last month was the hottest April on record globally—and the seventh consecutive month to have broken global temperature records.1Scientific America99 percent chance 2016 will be the hottest year on record.http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/99-percent-chance-2016-will-be-the-hottest-year-on-record/Date: 2016Google Scholar Events in Fort McMurray are relevant to many in the field of global risk and climate change. For example, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction seeks to tackle hazards before they become disasters through a culture of prevention, a thorough understanding of risk, by ongoing review of policies and priorities, and by good governance in support of collaboration and partnership. Although Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to avoid casting blame in the midst of so much suffering (and fortitude), several aspects of the fire are striking. First, the public and private sectors failed to take notice of repeated and explicit warnings by forestry experts of the risks of rapid expansion of resource extraction industries northward into boreal forests without taking measures to mediate those risks.2Canadian Council of Forest MinistersCanadian Wildland Fire Strategy: A vision for an innovative and integrated approach to managing the risks.http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/bookstore_pdfs/26218.pdfDate: 2005Google Scholar Fort McMurray is seen by scientists as a "huge oil complex [built] in the middle of a forest ecosystem that is designed to burn—forests regenerate themselves through fire".3Pittis D Sometimes it takes a disaster like Fort McMurray to make us prepare for the next one: Don Pittis. CBC News (Toronto).http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/fort-mcmurray-disaster-risk-prevention-1.3567955Date: May 9, 2016Google Scholar Second, even as the forests became increasingly dry and dangerous, the Alberta provincial government made large cuts in its 2016 spring budget to forest fire preparation, including prevention and mitigation; it halved its base wildfire management budget. Cuts to basic programmes such as FireSmart that included initiatives such as tree thinning, suggests a poor understanding of the immanent risk by the decision makers.4Henton D Did cuts to fire program budget have a role to play in Fort McMurray Fire? Calgary Herald (Calgary).http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/did-cuts-to-fire-program-budget-have-a-role-to-play-in-fort-mcmurray-fireDate: May 5, 2016Google Scholar Finally, risk reduction and prevention depend on good governance. The relationship between the public and private sectors lacks transparency, and Canadian resource industries fight hard to keep it that way. For example, one week before the fire (April 28, 2016), at its annual general meeting in Calgary, Canada, the management of the largest oil sands producers successfully defeated a shareholder motion (that nevertheless had 40% support), which would have forced it to reveal its funding of lobbyists, trade associations, and grassroots communications—which are widely seen by the public, and whistleblowers, as pivotal in preventing environmental legislation.5Prystup M Suncor on expansion spree in down oilpatch. The Tyee (Vancouver).http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/04/29/Suncor-Expansion-Spree/Date: April 29, 2016Google Scholar The parent company of another large oil sands producer is among several oil companies being investigated by 17 attorney generals in the USA for trying to suppress the risks of climate change.6Gibson K States team up to take on the fossil fuel industry. CBS News (New York).http://www.cbsnews.com/news/states-team-up-to-take-on-the-fossil-fuel-industry/Date: March 29, 2016Google Scholar The Fort McMurray fire is one more example of failure to mitigate. As the fire spread to oil sands work camps near Fort McMurray and then crossed the border into the province of Saskatchewan—at least one voice of reason was heard. Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia (where 80 fires are now ravaging the province), said that because of climate change things are getting progressively worse, "and we are girding for what is going to come next". She called for implementing a national forest fire plan.7Cheadle B Climate change sparking need for national forest fire plan: Christy Clark. The Globe and Mail (Toronto).http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/climate-change-sparking-need-for-national-forest-fire-plan-christy-clark/article30083692/Date: May 18, 2016Google Scholar This requires national leadership, open and honest collaboration with industry, and dedicated resources. I declare no competing interests.