ROTHENBURGER: Why we need to blame ourselves more for the havoc of wildfires
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HOW QUICKLY fire season comes around. No sooner has the chilly weather of winter and early spring vacated the premises, than wildfires are upon us and the first evacuation alerts have been issued in rural areas.
Certainly, we can blame climate change and the weather in general for much of it, but fact is that 40 per cent of wildfires in this province are human caused.
That’s massive. If we would only stop careless open burning, tossing lighted cigarettes, and end other common human activity that leads to fires, we could save millions of dollars and thousands of hectares of forest.
We’ve learned some tough lessons, including the fact the wildfires don’t strike only out in the woods where there’s little population. Cities are in danger, too, as we found out with the near miss at Juniper Ridge. And, as Fort Mac tragically experienced a few years ago.
