When you want to understand fire in Alberta, or understand fire, you can never go wrong by giving a call to Marty Alexander, former IAWF board member, author of key works on fire behavior, Canadian fire history, and firefighter safety, co-author of “Fire on Earth: An Introduction,” and Alberta resident since 1981.

His home lies in the southern extent of the boreal forest. He thought he’d seen the biggest Alberta fire in 1998, when the Virginia Hills fire burned nearly 200,000 hectares, now surpassed by Fort McMurray at 229,000 hectares.

“To not have crown fires in black spruce would be unnatural,” Marty said. “The only thing that’s different this time,” Marty said, “is that it hit a forested area and a community. It could potentially happen every summer. With more and more development, the likelihood is increasing.”

He reminds us — with every fire, whether “disaster” or “natural,” there’s much to learn. “Take the case of the Slave Lake fire — a highly wind-driven fire situation, with 40 mph winds and spotting. In Fort McMurray, it was not nearly as severe winds. Low humidity and heat were factors.”

A CBC meteorologist reminded his audience of the 30-30-30 rule of thumb for Canadian fire — fires burn actively with 30 C temperature, 30% humidity, and 30 kph winds. “That’s a good rule of thumb in the boreal, and it was certainly met in Fort McMurray.”

But “certainly” and “certainty” aren’t easy claims to make, and Alexander cautions against rushing to judgement until we know the facts. There will be an inquiry and likely major policy changes. For now, though, it’s important to lay claim to what we know:

  • That Fort McMurray, as tragic as its losses are, is not “the doomsday it’s been portrayed. Ninety percent of Fort McMurray is intact. That’s a far cry from what people think has happened.”
  • That a massive evacuation occurred safely. “What’s remarkable to me,” Marty observed, “is that you can get that many people out of town without incident. It’s largely testament to the people who kept their head. There’s one highway straight north, one straight south, and that’s all there is. It can be done, but maybe next time [in the next fire-impacted community], it may not work.”
  • That the Canadian public has shown such support. “What’s incredible is the way people are helping other people. The Canadian Red Cross is now up past $50 million raised, a record for CRC history. A boy was selling lemonade to raise funds for the campaign and people were dropping $100 bills into his can.

What we don’t know yet? How can and will a community re-build, and how might we learn about the role of landscape-scale fire as “fireproofing” for the future? And there’s the broader challenge, beyond Fort McMurray, of how to help citizens live with the uncertainty and risk of wildfires and communities. How to assume responsibility of our lives with fire when fire is such an essential component of many landscapes we call home? Will we re-build and re-shape our communities in FireSmart ways? Will we study this fire and fire in the landscape so we can come to terms with a phrase repeated often by Joe Stamm and quoted by Marty: “We don’t have a fire problem, we have a people problem.”

We are the problem and the solution. But during such a loss, there is no “people problem,” only a common humanitarian challenge for all of us to face and offer our support.

Even before the Fort McMurray fire, this issue of Wildfire was focused on people and fire. The articles and commentary address the question, When fires burn, are we prepared? From training to commentary and policy, from art to shared stories, this issue offers a variety of answers that affirm that yes, as a fire species we are adapted to and prepared for fire. Yet are we prepared enough? Are we prepared to adapt to new conditions. Which is implied (though not explicitly enough) in #3 of the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders: “Base all actions on current and expected behavior of the fire.”

If we learn nothing else from this issue’s stories, it may be that these guidelines remain effective only if we take a moment to gather information, think and reflect. Which makes me wonder if we may wish to adapt another fire order — “#2. Know what your fire is doing at all times.” — to also ask us to Know what our fire challenge is doing, now and in the future.