Latest news with #ShoeFire
CBC
6 hours ago
- Climate
- CBC
Cabin owner documents 'haunting' destruction of East Trout Lake, Sask., by wildfire
Nathan Pitka says it was a difficult journey up to East Trout Lake, Sask., to see the absolute devastation to the townsite. He had seen the drone footage released by the province last week that showed an overhead view of the flattened cabins, but it didn't fully prepare him for what it was like on the ground. "What we saw was haunting," Pitka said in an interview on Tuesday. "We were at a loss of words to what we saw. The entire community had been devastated. There wasn't a single structure standing in the community." Poor internet connection? CBC Lite is our low-bandwidth website. Pitka's extended family had five cabins at East Trout Lake, about 150 kilometres north of Prince Albert. He had gone up there last month and planned to spend the summer there, like usual. But when the evacuation order from the resort subdivision came on May 21, he packed up and left. WATCH | First look at devastation for East Trout Lake property owners: RAW | First look at devastation for East Trout Lake property owners 55 minutes ago Duration 1:39 Some property owners whose cabins and homes at East Trout Lake were burnt by the Shoe fire got a first-hand look at the charred rubble. One week later, Pitka got the news that the Shoe fire had burned through. That fire is still the biggest one burning in the province, last measured at more than 400,000 hectares as of Tuesday morning. Pitka has been staying in Saskatoon. On Saturday, he travelled up to East Trout Lake to document the devastation for himself and the other cabin owners. He shared the footage from his dashcam with CBC News, showing the journey up past Candle Lake and through the forest. "We thought it was important for ourselves, but also to let others in the community see the extent of the damage and devastation," Pitka said. He described areas of scorched forest with nothing but stumps. The sky was dark with smoke and fires were still smouldering in the ditches. Piles of metal and concrete are all that's left of the cabins. He took photos of each site to share with other cabin owners, so others wouldn't have to make the journey. Pitka said he and his family are grieving the destruction at East Trout Lake, which is "more than a location" — it's been the gathering site for his family for nearly 50 years. "I think I'm speaking for a lot of the residents that are out there," he said. "These have been multi-generational cabins and used year-round for connecting with the land and escaping the stresses of life." His family is working on how they're going to stay connected this year, without their beloved gathering place. On Tuesday, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) president Marlo Pritchard took a moment at the start of his daily briefing to acknowledge the "fear of the unknown" for those waiting to see what will happen to their homes, and the loss that others have already experienced. "I really want to acknowledge and give my thoughts and prayers to those that have been impacted directly, or indirectly, of these fires," Pritchard said. "There's a number of individuals that have lost property; we've had a number of individuals evacuated … that are sitting, waiting to hear whether their property has been impacted." On Monday, parts of the Northern Village of Denare Beach were consumed by the Wolf fire as it encroached on the community, near the Manitoba border in the province's northeast. La Ronge and surrounding communities were evacuated Monday as the Pisew fire approached from the north. Evacuees reported scary, long journeys south in convoys through flames and smoke from two other fires in the area — the Shoe and Ditch02 fires. About 8,000 people have been evacuated from northern Saskatchewan due to wildfires so far, according to the SPSA. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 21 wildfires burning in the province and the year-to-date total is 230, far above the five-year average of 132 fires for the same period.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Canadian wildfire smoke covers Eastern US, causing red sunsets
Smoke from wildfires in Canada covered most of the eastern and central United States on Monday morning and will linger through Tuesday, AccuWeather meteorologists say. Fortunately for people worried about the air quality impacting their health, most of the smoke has remained high in the atmosphere over the United States and only caused red sunrises and sunsets over the weekend. However, for areas closer to the fires in northern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, air quality remains poor to unhealthy on Monday morning. "Shower and thunderstorms in the Upper Midwest this afternoon and evening will help cleanse the air and help improve air quality," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alexander Duffus said. Rainfall can bring the smell of wildfire smoke down to the ground, so people who are outside during the showers and storms could catch a whiff of smoke. Residents concerned about the smoke's health effects can check their local air quality on The largest wildfire burning in Canada is the Shoe Fire in central Saskatchewan, which remains out of control and one of the many sources of smoke over the lower 48 states, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson. As of Monday morning, the Shoe Fire has burned 1490 square miles, which is equivalent to the size of Rhode Island.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
'This is classic climate change': Sask. faces worst wildfire season in decades
Saskatchewan is battling the worst wildfire it's seen in decades — including the 300,000-hectare Shoe Fire in northern Saskatchewan — and experts say it's largely caused by climate change. "This is classic climate change," said Colin Laroque, head of soil science and professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Laroque said climatology is studied using 30-year timeframes of weather patterns, which "weren't that different" until recently. "If you're that 20, to 25, to 30 year [age], you're experiencing something that we've never really experienced before." Laroque said the question of whether this year is abnormal is relative. "It's in the more recent past, this is normal," Laroque said. "This is our new normal." He said if he were to ask someone his grandfather's age, or his father's age, they would find it "very unusual" to have forest fires this early. "These are things that we traditionally saw more in June, July and later summer, when everything dried out and then the fires took off," Laroque said. Saskatchewan is making its way out of a relatively dry period. Few places had snow for long periods of time over winter. In the past, "snowpacks" would take time to fully melt and trickle into the ground as it warmed up. This would recharge the moisture of the soil. "What's happening the last few years is that we go from a relatively cold period of time and one or two days later it's plus 22 [C]," Laroque explained. The extreme back-and-forth causes the snow to melt rapidly while the ground stays frozen, not allowing the snow to fully sink into the soil. Laroque said most of the snow ends up evaporating, causing "instant drought," similar to what the province experienced in spring 2024. "Then the trees rehydrated, sucked up a lot of the ground moisture and then everything is just ready to be burned," he said. He also noted Saskatchewan's forest and grasses were mainly brown from the dry weather and made great fuel for grass fires. Lori Daniels, professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia's department of forest and conservation sciences, said the emergency wildfire situation in the province is the result of an emergency global climate situation. "The further we are from the equator, we're seeing that those changes are amplified," Daniels said. "In Northern Canada and the northern parts of our provinces and up into the territories … we're experiencing more than three times what the global average is in terms of temperature change." Daniels said climate change is "the new reality" and it's unclear how long the province will be dealing with these fires. "We need substantial rain to wet down our ecosystems, dampen these fires, and make our ecosystems more resistant to fire for the rest of the summer," she said. "But there is a chance if we don't get the weather patterns that bring that rain, some of these fires may persist for a very long period of time." Not all is lost. Many ecosystems in Canada have adapted to large fires, Daniels said. "They are tremendously resilient natural systems," she said. "The seed banks that are sitting, you know, deep in the soil, the roots that kind of persist in the soil underneath, will re-sprout and begin to regrow even after fairly intense fires." There are also many shifts in tree species that surround the areas of a fire. Daniels said trees like broadleaf, conifer and needleleaf tend to grow in quickly. "Fire can also be a rejuvenating force," she said. Daniels said some Indigenous communities have used fire as a part of their land stewardship. "We are now learning in Western Canada from our Indigenous collaborators and Indigenous knowledge holders that there was tremendous value in using fire, 'low intensity fire' or 'good fire'," Daniels said. In the spring and fall, a specific type of fire would be used by some Indigenous communities to burn off fuels that have accumulated over a couple of seasons to stimulate understory plants and to remove the density of trees. "You're still maintaining a forest ecosystem around you, but you're changing the amount of fuel."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'This is classic climate change': Sask. faces worst wildfire season in decades
Saskatchewan is battling the worst wildfire it's seen in decades — including the 300,000-hectare Shoe Fire in northern Saskatchewan — and experts say it's largely caused by climate change. "This is classic climate change," said Colin Laroque, head of soil science and professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Laroque said climatology is studied using 30-year timeframes of weather patterns, which "weren't that different" until recently. "If you're that 20, to 25, to 30 year [age], you're experiencing something that we've never really experienced before." Laroque said the question of whether this year is abnormal is relative. "It's in the more recent past, this is normal," Laroque said. "This is our new normal." He said if he were to ask someone his grandfather's age, or his father's age, they would find it "very unusual" to have forest fires this early. "These are things that we traditionally saw more in June, July and later summer, when everything dried out and then the fires took off," Laroque said. Saskatchewan is making its way out of a relatively dry period. Few places had snow for long periods of time over winter. In the past, "snowpacks" would take time to fully melt and trickle into the ground as it warmed up. This would recharge the moisture of the soil. "What's happening the last few years is that we go from a relatively cold period of time and one or two days later it's plus 22 [C]," Laroque explained. The extreme back-and-forth causes the snow to melt rapidly while the ground stays frozen, not allowing the snow to fully sink into the soil. Laroque said most of the snow ends up evaporating, causing "instant drought," similar to what the province experienced in spring 2024. "Then the trees rehydrated, sucked up a lot of the ground moisture and then everything is just ready to be burned," he said. He also noted Saskatchewan's forest and grasses were mainly brown from the dry weather and made great fuel for grass fires. Lori Daniels, professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia's department of forest and conservation sciences, said the emergency wildfire situation in the province is the result of an emergency global climate situation. "The further we are from the equator, we're seeing that those changes are amplified," Daniels said. "In Northern Canada and the northern parts of our provinces and up into the territories … we're experiencing more than three times what the global average is in terms of temperature change." Daniels said climate change is "the new reality" and it's unclear how long the province will be dealing with these fires. "We need substantial rain to wet down our ecosystems, dampen these fires, and make our ecosystems more resistant to fire for the rest of the summer," she said. "But there is a chance if we don't get the weather patterns that bring that rain, some of these fires may persist for a very long period of time." Not all is lost. Many ecosystems in Canada have adapted to large fires, Daniels said. "They are tremendously resilient natural systems," she said. "The seed banks that are sitting, you know, deep in the soil, the roots that kind of persist in the soil underneath, will re-sprout and begin to regrow even after fairly intense fires." There are also many shifts in tree species that surround the areas of a fire. Daniels said trees like broadleaf, conifer and needleleaf tend to grow in quickly. "Fire can also be a rejuvenating force," she said. Daniels said some Indigenous communities have used fire as a part of their land stewardship. "We are now learning in Western Canada from our Indigenous collaborators and Indigenous knowledge holders that there was tremendous value in using fire, 'low intensity fire' or 'good fire'," Daniels said. In the spring and fall, a specific type of fire would be used by some Indigenous communities to burn off fuels that have accumulated over a couple of seasons to stimulate understory plants and to remove the density of trees. "You're still maintaining a forest ecosystem around you, but you're changing the amount of fuel."
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
'This is classic climate change': Sask. faces worst wildfire season in decades
There have been 207 wildfires this year as of Friday — 40 more than the same period last year Image | Fire at Besnard Lake Caption: Fire travels towards a treeline at Besnard Lake in La Ronge, Sask., on Wednesday. The Canadian military has been called in to help fight wildfires in northern Saskatchewan. (Submitted by Trevor Phenix) Saskatchewan is battling the worst wildfire it's seen in decades — including the 300,000-hectare Shoe Fire in northern Saskatchewan — and experts say it's largely caused by climate change. "This is classic climate change," said Colin Laroque, head of soil science and professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Laroque said climatology is studied using 30-year timeframes of weather patterns, which "weren't that different" until recently. "If you're that 20, to 25, to 30 year [age], you're experiencing something that we've never really experienced before." Poor internet connection? CBC Lite is our low-bandwidth website. Laroque said the question of whether this year is abnormal is relative. "It's in the more recent past, this is normal," Laroque said. "This is our new normal." He said if he were to ask someone his grandfather's age, or his father's age, they would find it "very unusual" to have forest fires this early. "These are things that we traditionally saw more in June, July and later summer, when everything dried out and then the fires took off," Laroque said. Saskatchewan is making its way out of a relatively dry period. Few places had snow for long periods of time over winter. In the past, "snowpacks" would take time to fully melt and trickle into the ground as it warmed up. This would recharge the moisture of the soil. "What's happening the last few years is that we go from a relatively cold period of time and one or two days later it's plus 22 [C]," Laroque explained. The extreme back-and-forth causes the snow to melt rapidly while the ground stays frozen, not allowing the snow to fully sink into the soil. Laroque said most of the snow ends up evaporating, causing "instant drought," similar to what the province experienced in spring 2024. "Then the trees rehydrated, sucked up a lot of the ground moisture and then everything is just ready to be burned," he said. He also noted Saskatchewan's forest and grasses were mainly brown from the dry weather and made great fuel for grass fires. Lori Daniels, professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia's department of forest and conservation sciences, said the emergency wildfire situation in the province is the result of an emergency global climate situation. "The further we are from the equator, we're seeing that those changes are amplified," Daniels said. "In Northern Canada and the northern parts of our provinces and up into the territories … we're experiencing more than three times what the global average is in terms of temperature change." Daniels said climate change is "the new reality" and it's unclear how long the province will be dealing with these fires. "We need substantial rain to wet down our ecosystems, dampen these fires, and make our ecosystems more resistant to fire for the rest of the summer," she said. "But there is a chance if we don't get the weather patterns that bring that rain, some of these fires may persist for a very long period of time." Not all is lost. Many ecosystems in Canada have adapted to large fires, Daniels said. "They are tremendously resilient natural systems," she said. "The seed banks that are sitting, you know, deep in the soil, the roots that kind of persist in the soil underneath, will re-sprout and begin to regrow even after fairly intense fires." There are also many shifts in tree species that surround the areas of a fire. Daniels said trees like broadleaf, conifer and needleleaf tend to grow in quickly. "Fire can also be a rejuvenating force," she said. Daniels said some Indigenous communities have used fire as a part of their land stewardship. "We are now learning in Western Canada from our Indigenous collaborators and Indigenous knowledge holders that there was tremendous value in using fire, 'low intensity fire' or 'good fire'," Daniels said. In the spring and fall, a specific type of fire would be used by some Indigenous communities to burn off fuels that have accumulated over a couple of seasons to stimulate understory plants and to remove the density of trees. "You're still maintaining a forest ecosystem around you, but you're changing the amount of fuel."
