INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES (21ST CENTURY)

2023

ECOCIDE
noun
destruction of the natural environment,
especially when deliberate.

INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES

(Largest Fires of the 21st Century)

Canadian Wildfires
(2023)

(Yellowknife, Northwest Territories)

#4

LARGEST FIRE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The Official Story

2023 CANADIAN WILDFIRES
(4th Largest Fire of the 21st Century)

Beginning in March 2023, and with increased intensity starting in June, Canada has been affected by an ongoing, record-setting series of wildfires. All 13 provinces and territories have been affected, with large fires in Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. The 2023 wildfire season has seen the most area burned in Canada’s recorded history, surpassing the 1989, 1995, and 2014 fire seasons, as well as in recorded North American history, surpassing the 2020 Western US wildfire season.

As of September 7, 6,187 fires had burned 165,646 square kilometres (63,956 sq mi; 40,932,000 acres), about five percent of the entire forest area of Canada and more than six times the long-term average of 2.66 million ha (6.6 million acres) for that time of the year. On September 8 there were 964 wildfires active, and 597 of those were deemed “out of control”. International aid has helped reduce the impact of the fires.

Smoke emitted from the wildfires has caused air quality alerts and evacuations in Canada and the United States. In late June it crossed the Atlantic, reaching Europe.

Northwest Territories

On June 7, there were eleven active wildfires in the Northwest Territories. At that point, there had been 21 total fires, affecting 403,815 hectares (997,850 acres). By August 15, there were over 230 wildfires throughout the territory. By August 17, they were within 17 km (11 mi) of the capital city, Yellowknife, leading to an evacuation order. The wildfires caused telecommunication and internet signals to be cut off throughout the South Slave Region, which led to concerns about the feasibility of a safe evacuation.

By August 23, wildfires in the territory had produced 97 megatonnes of carbon, accounting for roughly a fourth of the total 327 megatonnes produced by Canada’s wildfires in 2023.

Northwest Territories evacuations

The Katl’odeeche First Nation (Hay River Reserve) and the residents of Hay River were evacuated on May 14. The 3,000 residents of Hay River were allowed to return on May 24, while the 300 members of the K’at’lodeeche First Nation were not able to return until June 7. On May 31, the residents of Sambaa K’e were evacuated to Fort Simpson.

On August 14, authorities in the Northwest Territories declared a state of emergency and issued another evacuation order to communities throughout the Dehcho, South Slave, and North Slave Regions, including those in Behchokǫ̀, Enterprise, Fort Smith, Hay River, Kakisa, the Kátł’odeeche First Nation and Jean Marie River. Hundreds of people were airlifted out of the wildfire zone with the assistance of the Canadian Armed Forces. Stanton Territorial Hospital ramped down its health services and began sending some of its patients to St. Albert, Alberta.

By the evening of August 15, Yellowknife itself began issuing precautionary evacuation alerts to parts of the city, as the wildfire began drawing closer. On the same day, Michael St Amour, the mayor of Enterprise, said that between 85–90% of his town was destroyed by the fires. On the evening of August 16, evacuation orders were issued for Yellowknife, N’dilo, Dettah, and Ingraham Trail, affecting an estimated 22,000 people.

On August 19, 2023, 87% of Yellowknife was evacuated by 6:58 am (ET), with only 2,600 of the original 20,000 remaining, 1,000 of which were essential workers. By August 21, 68% of the population of the Northwest Territories had been evacuated.

Air Canada and WestJet were initially criticized for high prices and unwaived cancellation fees for flights to and from Yellowknife; they had since changed policies to alleviate financial burden for evacuees as of August 17. Both carriers also increased the number of flights to Yellowknife.

Source: Wikipedia

2023 Canadian Wildfires Statistics

Dates(s):	March 1, 2023 – present
Total Fires:	6,187 (as of September 7, 2023)
Burned Area:	16.565 million ha (40.93 million acres) (as of September 7, 2023)
Deaths:	6
Evacuated:	155,856 people (as of July 7, 2023)