Experts warn it is only a matter of time before another community in Canada is ravaged by a sudden intense wildfire similar to the one that hit Fort McMurray.
And the insurance industry says governments aren91裸聊视频檛 doing enough to prevent destructive blazes before they happen.
In recent years, other big wildfires have caused extensive damage in Kelowna, B.C., and Slave Lake, Alta., or seriously threatened communities, including La Ronge, Sask., and Timmins, Ont.
91裸聊视频淭hese were not one-offs. It is not a fluke,91裸聊视频� says Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at the University of Alberta. 91裸聊视频淚t is going to happen again.91裸聊视频�
Natural Resources Canada says climate change is expected to result in more frequent forest fires that have severe consequences. The area burned could double by the end of the century compared with recent decades.
Sylvie Gauthier with the Canadian Forest Service says a warming climate has already made forests in much of Canada drier than they used to be. Last spring was one of the driest in the Fort McMurray area in the last 100 years.
As temperatures increase, so will the risk.
91裸聊视频淭he expectation is it will grow in the coming years,91裸聊视频� Gauthier says. 91裸聊视频淔or a large portion of the boreal forest the fire season is also projected to be longer.91裸聊视频�
Another factor is that more people91裸聊视频� a major cause of wildfires along with lightning91裸聊视频� are choosing to live, work and play in forested areas.
Governments already spend millions of dollars every year to respond to wildfires and help pay for damage.
But the Insurance Bureau of Canada says more must be done to prevent fires rather than dealing with the destruction afterwards.
Bill Adams, the bureau91裸聊视频檚 vice-president, says governments are spending more on measures to mitigate the threat, but it isn91裸聊视频檛 enough.
91裸聊视频淎wareness is critical and at this point it is exceptionally low,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淯nless we have a much higher level of awareness around this risk 91裸聊视频� and prudent investments and action taken by federal and provincial governments and individual citizens 91裸聊视频� it is likely that we will have another major damaging fire.91裸聊视频�
Adams says measures should include creating buffer zones around communities and homes by removing trees and brush that could act as pathways for a fire. Builders should also be required to use less flammable roofing and siding material.
Adams says the fact no one died in the Fort McMurray disaster is astounding, despite more than 80,000 people being forced to flee and almost 2,600 dwellings being destroyed.
He says the evacuation91裸聊视频檚 success was partly due to there being a major highway leading out of the city, the relatively young age of residents and many people having some knowledge of safety from living in an oil industry community.
That might not be the case if a major fire were to threaten a more remote community with older, less healthy residents and fewer roads.
91裸聊视频淭hat is why we are sounding the alarm as an industry about raising the level of preparedness and that starts with understanding the risk.91裸聊视频�
Flannigan says governments should funnel fire prevention money to communities that need it the most.
Municipalities need to change how they plan development, such as not building homes and subdivisions right next to forests, he suggests. More attention also must be played to the threat that wildfires pose to remote indigenous communities that don91裸聊视频檛 have roads.
Flannigan believes the Fort McMurray wildfire is a wake-up call to governments that more needs to be done sooner rather than later.
91裸聊视频淪ometimes to change our behaviour you need a few bloody noses. Well, we have had a few bloody noses, and it is time to change.91裸聊视频�
