Wildfire update from Lac du Bonnet
Loren Schinkel, Reeve of RM of Lac du Bonnet, shares the latest on wildfires, evacuations, and how residents are being supported through the crisis.
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CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
'Long overdue' dikeland upgrades coming to rural N.S. community
A rural Nova Scotia community on the Bay of Fundy is preparing for the most significant upgrades in decades to the dikeland system that protects it from flooding. The work has been approved for Advocate Harbour, N.S., which has been identified as being at risk due to rising sea levels caused by climate change. People who live along the shore of the coastal community got to see plans for the project at a meeting in April. "It's been a long time coming," said Linda Black, whose home is within a couple of hundred metres of the shore. "It's scary when the tide is in full and that water is up to the top of the rocks." Her neighbour Mike Berry recalls the water being at his fence line during a storm in 2019. "The cattle were stranded on the high points. There was no damage, but it just put things in perspective," Berry said. The upgrades will see the height of the dike walls increased by two metres to an elevation of 7.6 metres in some parts. They will also be extended by an additional 500 metres to provide added protection to the community. The project is equally funded by the provincial and federal governments through a disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. Climate change is the big driver for the reinforcement work, with projections in Nova Scotia showing sea levels are anticipated to rise up to one metre by 2100. "The risk currently is that we're seeing flooding in certain regions of Nova Scotia and with the dike increase in height, we would protect the town and local infrastructure and agricultural farmlands from that flooding," said Jessica LeBlanc, a project engineer for the provincial Department of Public Works. While the dikes are continually maintained, LeBlanc said there has not been extensive work on them since the 1950s. The site is one of 16 the province earmarked for upgrades based on their vulnerability. Thousands of tons of armour rock will be needed to build up the seaward side of the dike, with grass on the land side, she said. The number of trucks that will be carrying rock through the community is a concern for the owners of the Wild Caraway restaurant. They are worried that the amount of construction might spoil the experience for their guests, who could also lose some of the impressive harbour view when the dike is raised. However, they're also pleased there will be added defence from any possible storm surges. "It's always in the back of our minds," said Marchel Strong, the councillor for the area, who is also a volunteer firefighter and has been part of the flood risk committee. "It's not if, it's when we have another breach. And it could be anytime," Strong said. "So it's definitely something that is long overdue." People in the area prefer the option that is now going ahead rather than raising up the road, which Strong said could have resulted in having to relocate the post office. And she's happy that on top of the dike there will be walking trails people can explore when the tide is out. "It'll make it much more viable for tourists," Strong said, estimating the project will cost about $7 million. The Advocate Country Store, located close to the shoreline, is pleased to know the embankments will be strengthened. The residential care facility just across the street, which already has a disaster plan in place, also thinks the work is important. "If a big storm happened and the dike breached, we would be quite vulnerable as our residents would have to be transported elsewhere and the community is quite isolated," said Bernadette Frank, the administrator of Chignecto Manor. There is still some permitting and regulatory work to be done, but the province expects work will start in the fall. The sheer size of the project means it will also take some time, with the province estimating construction will last up to two years.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Toronto's getting hotter. Experts say a chief heat officer could help the city adapt
Social Sharing As Toronto braces for another hotter than usual summer, some climate policy experts and advocates say a chief heat officer could help the city adapt to extreme temperatures faster. Municipalities around the world are appointing a central person to lead heat resilience teams, which are task forces responsible for developing and overseeing heat management and adaptation solutions. Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Athens and Melbourne are among the cities that already have a chief heat officer, says Caroline Metz, managing director of climate resilience and health at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo. "Cities are prioritizing heat as a threat," she told CBC Toronto. "They're investing in a more climate resilient future, looking to protect health and wellness, and reduce losses — loss of lives, loss of livelihoods." Toronto summers may not hit the same high temperature as Miami, but climate change is heating up the city fast. A report by the Climate Resilience and Health at the Intact Centre found that Toronto could experience up to 55 days of temperatures above 30 C by 2051. That's up from the current 12 days of extra hot weather and doesn't factor in the urban heat island effect within cities, meaning the way concrete, asphalt and other dark materials intensify heat. Plus, days are already getting hotter. There's an 80 per cent probability that the next three months in Toronto are on track to be hotter than in past years, according to national temperature forecasts. Designating a single entity to take care of heat management would "break down the silos" and co-ordinate communities, government agencies and the private sector, Metz said, even in a city like Toronto, which is considered a leader on climate issues. WATCH | Projections show frequency of extreme heat events will grow: Canadians must prepare better for future extreme heat events, report warns 3 years ago Duration 2:23 Researchers with the University of Waterloo published a new report warning that Canadians must act now to adapt to climate change, as projections show a future filled with extreme heat events. "Heat is one of the most challenging climate hazards," she said. "We've got to think about this in terms of how it affects people, their health, how they live and work." In an email, Los Angeles' Chief Heat Officer Marta Segura told CBC Toronto that her office's main focus is to create the city's first heat action resilience plan and that they work "behind the scenes" to provide greater accountability and support across all departments addressing extreme heat awareness. "These efforts help to cool the city, fostering social cohesion and community well-being," she said. Toronto behind on building resilience, advocate says Right now in Toronto, 15 different municipal departments and agencies play a role in heat management, including Toronto Public Health, Toronto Emergency Management, Environment, Climate and Forestry, as well as Shelter and Support Services, according to the city's heat relief strategy. The document outlines tools and programs geared at keeping residents safe, including cooling centres, street outreach and public messaging. Other initiatives include the city's recently launched air conditioner assistance program pilot project for low-income seniors and efforts to expand tree canopy coverage. Still, Toronto is behind on heat adaptation, says Lyn Adamson, co-chair of the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign. "Heat is really that big of an issue," Adamson said, recalling the heat dome over Vancouver in 2021 that resulted in the deaths of over 600 people, most of them seniors who were living alone. "That was a lack of preparation and it took Vancouver by surprise — it should not take any other city by surprise," she said. A spokesperson for the city manager's office said in an email that the heat relief strategy doesn't include plans to hire a chief heat officer. A way to validate problem and track data Toronto did have a chief resilience officer not long ago — a position funded from 2017 to 2019 by a donation from the Rockefeller Foundation. It led to the city's first resilience strategy, aimed at addressing climate change and poverty. That strategy notes that many low-income Torontonians live in older apartment towers in dire need of retrofit repairs to deal with extreme weather. Appointing a chief heat officer would restore the city's commitment to adaptation and finally give heat management the profile and validity it needs, Adamson says. "This is a health protection measure that we need to take," she said. Another benefit of the position would be better data collection, says Warren Mabee, director of the Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen's University. "We don't have good data on how many people are actually being affected by heat. We don't have good data on workplace accidents," he said. "Pulling together that data and analyzing that data is a full time job and somebody needs to take that on." However, a single leadership position wouldn't be enough by itself, says Emmay Mah, executive director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance. "We really need multiple dedicated positions and resources across divisions. We know that the city is working on it," she said. "It in terms of having a senior position ... it can't be a ceremonial thing. It's really a matter of life and death for some residents."
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Expert says Canada's current wildfire season could match country's most destructive year
One expert says Canada could be set to repeat its record-setting wildfire season from two years ago. The area that wildfires have burned so far this year matches the rate at which fires spread in 2023, said John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, during an interview on CBC Morning Live on Thursday. By the end of 2023, more than 6,000 fires had torched an unprecedented 15 million hectares across Canada. "Just two years ago was the worst fire season in Canadian history by far, and what I'm really sorry to say … is 2025 looks like it's shaping up to be a repeat of 2023," said Valliant. "In terms of hectares burned by this date, we're on pace with 2023 right now." WATCH | Wildfire expert answers your questions on fire prevention, control: Wildfire expert answers your questions on fire prevention, control 17 hours ago Duration 16:38 John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, answers viewer questions on fire prevention, the resources needed to bring wildfires under control and why they're becoming more frequent and intense. Currently, Canada has three times the amount of land area burned from wildfires compared to the 10-year average, according to statistics from Natural Resources Canada. As of May 30, more than 1,400,000 hectares have been burned across Canada due to wildfires this year. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the two provinces that have seen the most land burned by wildfires this year. As of May 30, Manitoba and Saskatchewan had almost five times and 10 times their average amount of hectares burned by wildfire compared to the 10-year average. June weather is crucial The extreme fire conditions can be attributed to an early heat wave in the eastern Canadian Prairie region, with temperatures hitting as high as 38 C in Manitoba, said Kyle Brittain, an Alberta-based weather specialist, in an interview on Edmonton AM this week. "If we look back through the month of May, it was warmer and drier than average through a huge chunk of the Prairie provinces where most of the bad fire situation has really been focused," Brittain said. "So anytime you have these extreme heat events that just really contributes to the drying of the forest fuels and then it's really hot, dry, windy weather on the day-to-day that can really contribute to these rapid rates of spread in the extreme fire behaviour that we've been seeing." Whether or not Western Canada will see its wildfire situation improve will depend on the amount of rain in June, said Brittain. "It's June, Western Canada's wettest month … If the rains show up, it can tilt the season either way. If they don't show up, we're almost guaranteed to have a pretty bad fire season persisting."
