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Global News
4 days ago
- Science
- Global News
Deep impacts: Manitoba wildfires could threaten aquatic ecosystems
Raging wildfires have left visible scars on much of Manitoba's landscape this season, but the impacts of the fires can go much deeper, including right to the bottom of the lake. Researchers say this year's record-setting wildfire season could be taking a toll on aquatic ecosystems. 'The loss of habitat — the trees and the brush around the lake systems — that introduces more light and that can cause a whole host of problems where we potentially have algal blooms,' said Alexandra Schoen, a researcher and fish culture programs manager for the Province of Manitoba. 'UV light can disrupt fish egg development.' 2:24 Manitoba First Nations demand change to wildfire strategy Schoen says the wildfires can create a range of other risks to fish and aquatic ecosystems, including disrupting the food web, changing the water's temperature and chemistry, and the loss of trees and vegetation on land can create increased runoff into bodies of water. Story continues below advertisement 'That could be as simple and silt and dirt that's flooded into the lakes or it could be more toxic — so, chemicals from the fire retardants that are being sprayed up north and all over the province,' Schoen explained. View image in full screen Workers check for tags on a brown trout at the Whiteshell Fish Hatchery. Josh Arason / Global News 'Those can have a whole host of problems — both physically, like clogging fish gills, potentially, but it can also have indirect effects like physiologial effects, like changing fish behaviour or changing how they feed or reproduce.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Terri-Lee Reid, a freshwater conservation researcher with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, says wildfires can also have some environmental benefits, including allowing for regrowth of vegetation and regeneration of nutrients in soil. Certain trees, she says, like the jackpine and lodgepole pine, require heat from fires to open their cones and release seeds. 'Depending on the number of wildfires, the intensity of the wildfires, the location of the wildfire, how healthy the ecosystem was before the fire and how much rain falls after the fire, wildfires can also have harmful impacts to our freshwater,' Reid said. Story continues below advertisement View image in full screen Counting fish at the Whiteshell Fish Hatchery. Josh Arason / Global News Reid also says the longer and more intense wildfire seasons could mean longer-lasting impacts on aquatic ecosystems. 'We are seeing more fires and more intense fires and that can certainly have an impact on our freshwater,' she said. 'Especially if the fires are occurring near fresh waterbodies, or if the same areas keep being impacted by fires, because then they will have little time to recover in between.' 2:26 Kinew accuses group of Republicans of pitching 'timber tantrum' over wildfire smoke Schoen, who also conducts research at the Whiteshell Fish Hatchery, says the wildfire season has also prevented fisheries from stocking certain lakes in northern Manitoba. She says the true impact won't be known until they are able to get into the wildfire zones, and some of the impacts could go far beyond this wildfire season. Story continues below advertisement 'There can be these really prolonged effects,' Schoen said. 'Sometimes you're dealing with changes that last for days, and sometimes with pH or water chemistry, you're dealing with changes that last years.'
Global News
30-05-2025
- Climate
- Global News
Manitoba residents, cottagers assess wildfire damage in Lac du Bonnet
Many residents and cottagers in Lac du Bonnet, Man., are returning to the area to assess the damage and begin cleaning up the rubble, after a raging wildfire tore through the area two weeks ago. The more than 4,000-hectare wildfire destroyed dozens of properties, scarred the landscape beyond recognition, and took the lives of two people who were unable to flee the flames. The area is barely recognizable to Ron Burley, who has lived in Lac du Bonnet for the past nine years. 'It looks like a war zone,' Burley told Global News. 'There were trees and it was lush, there was privacy. You couldn't see the lake. It was kind of nice; now, everything is just burnt and you're seeing hills of granite that I never knew were there.' View image in full screen Dozens of properties on Wendigo Road were destroyed by wildfire. Josh Arason / Global News Burley's home was spared from the wildfire, but it came close. Story continues below advertisement 'I was told it was about another 20 minutes and our area would have been gone,' he said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He says the loss of homes and cottages in the area has meant a tough and emotional time for many families. 'There's history with those cottages,' Burley said. 'Whether it's five years, one year, or, in most of the cases with those cottages, it's 40 years or longer. It's not about it being a recreational property. It's about people's stories, their lives.' Burley himself had a harrowing escape from the wildfire, quickly finding himself surrounded by flames on the only road out. He says that experience was like staring death in the face, and is something he never wants to go through again. View image in full screen Ron Burley nearly got lost in the flames while trying to escape the wildfire in Lac du Bonnet two weeks ago. Josh Arason / Global News 'I had to drive into a fire to get out of a fire,' he said. Story continues below advertisement 'It quickly became very clear we were sitting in a death trap. We were living in a death trap with only one way out.' Burley says he's now thinking of the thousands fleeing their homes in northern Manitoba, and has one message for them. 'I made the mistake of grabbing stuff thinking I had time and grabbing materialistic things. Well, it almost cost me my life,' Burley said. 'I hope they are not making those same decisions and that they're just getting out. 'It happens so fast. When they tell you to get out, you gotta go. You just gotta go.' View image in full screen Residents say much of Wendigo Road in Lac du Bonnet is now unrecognizable. Josh Arason / Global News Lorne Schinkel, the reeve of the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, says insurance companies are on the ground in the area assessing the damage. Story continues below advertisement He also says while the wildfire is now under control, crews are still in the area as tinder dry conditions have allowed for some flareups. 'We know there's still approximately 20 fire attack personnel working on that fire, as well as helicopter buckets being applied to different hotspots,' Schinkel said. 'I am aware that there was a flareup the other night that resulted in the fire department being called out again, and this will continue for some period of time. So everyone has to be very vigilant in the community.' Schinkel is also urging people to heed fire bans in the area. 'At the end of the day, it's still a very dangerous situation out there.'
