While it’s not necessarily a problem that directly affects Albertans, the wildfire season this year in BC has reached such epically tragic proportions that we feel a need to chime in on the topic. A state of emergency was declared on July 7th, with over 904 fires occurring since April 1st. Some of the blazes that have gotten out of control caused massive evacuations and air quality warnings throughout the province. There are many displaced residents living in temporary housing while they wait to return to their homes – or what used to be their homes. If you’re looking for an arborist in Edmonton or the surrounding area, chances are that it’s not because of a wildfire, however, if you need our top experts to prune your trees and give you a couple fire safety tips, we’re always happy to oblige.
In this current state of emergency, weather plays a huge role. It looks as though cool air coming in off the Pacific Ocean should clear some of the toxic smoke that is being produced by the massive blazes and some wet weather moving into the southern coast should help to tamp down the blazes and help to tip things in favour of the crews battling the flames.
Near Ashcroft B.C., a secondary fire was unfortunately created by a crew executing a controlled burn. This fire destroyed the land of many area ranchers, killing hundreds of cows. The ranchers are seeking compensation for the damages from the province.
This is part of the problem with forest fires: we don’t realize how elemental forests are, what a huge part of our lives and landscape they are, until a brutal natural disaster such as this occurs. In the summertime, people are flippant about campfires and cooking outdoors; they don’t realize what a massively negative impact it can have on the environment and on the lives of others if they do not practice proper fire safety. Once a tree burns down it leaves behind its roots and an unsightly charred stump. It costs the province millions of dollars to clear this land and replace the trees. Offering stump removal services ourselves, we don’t mind telling you that it is a difficult process that takes plenty of time and energy – we can only imagine what it would be like doing it on such a massive scale.
As we discussed in a recent blog post on our site, preventing forest fires is a big deal for us, since we truly love trees. We are relieved to report that at least in Alberta, we have seen a reduction in forest fires this year, down to 900 so far this year against 1230 last year. None of the fires have gotten out of control (knock on wood). Because we’ve had such a great season, we’ve been able to spare some fire crews to pitch in in BC, but there certainly are some Albertan fire crews out there fighting the good fight at home. There are still fire bans in several of our gorgeous natural parks and forests, so make sure you take heed before lighting a campfire, and always soak a fire until it is completely extinguished at the end of the night.
If you’re looking for a tree pruning company in Edmonton or the surrounding area, don’t hesitate to give us a call. It may cause us great sadness to see trees destroyed in an avoidable natural disaster, but it brings us great joy to make sure that the trees on your property are happy and healthy.
