Tag Archives: 2025 Wildfires

Environment, Indigenous Nations

Tseshaht prohibits all fires on reserve and Broken Group Islands

By Nora O’Malley, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Port Alberni, B.C. – BC Wildfire Service may have flip-flopped on a May 7 campfire ban in the Coastal Fire Centre, but Tseshaht First Nation in Port Alberni is holding the proverbial burn line.

The nation is prohibiting all fires on reserve lands and the Broken Group Islands until further notice. Their decision is supported by Hupačasath First Nation and the City of Port Alberni, who are also maintaining a complete fire ban.

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Fire

‘Earliest ever’ fire ban takes effect in B.C. Coastal Fire Centre

Editor’s Note: As of noon on Thursday May 7, 2026, the is a total fire ban on Cortes Island, Quadra Island and all other parts of the Strathcona Regional District. Campfires, backyard fires and beach fires are not permitted.

By Nora O’Malley, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter – With a file from Denise Titian

Vancouver Island, B.C. – As of Thursday, May 7 at noon, camping trips on B.C.’s coast will entail empty fire pits. 

The provincial government says open fires throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction, with exceptions for Haida Gwaii, are prohibited. The prohibition will be in place until October 31, 2026, or until the order is rescinded. 

“It’s the earliest ever, but at the same time it’s certainly dry out there. After last year we certainly don’t want any more wildfires,” said Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Cann.

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Cost of Climate Change

Happy New Year Humanity – The Quadra Project

When the outside world is too disturbing to confront, people seek
relief through the vicarious safety of fantasy. This explains why 2025
was a banner year for horror movies. J.G. Ballard, an English novelist
and essayist, noted that, “The ultimate dystopia is the inside of
one’s own head.” Dr. Coltan Scrivner, a behavioural scientist agrees.
“You walk around with your mask of tranquillity, but inside your mind
is a maze of worries. Horror allows you to take off your mask.” (The
Guardian Weekly, Editorial, Oct. 24, 2025.) So with this genre of
movie you get to experience horror, but not the real kind that you
might be reluctant to confront.

As we mark the beginning of 2026, we are one quarter of our way
through the 21st century and are coming closer to the haunting
forecasts of climate catastrophe by the end of the century, if we do
not reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. So a review of 2025 seems
appropriate.

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Cost of Climate Change, Disaster

Driving through Canadian Wildfires: A Cross-Country Journey Amid the Smoke

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As of August 7, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported that wildfires have consumed more than 7.1 million hectares. There is a broad belt of fires stretching from Northern Alberta to Western Ontario (image below). 

Driving across Canada in mid to late May, we played tag with the smoke and its acrid scent all the way from the Saskatchewan border to Newfoundland. It wasn’t as bad as the news sometimes made it sound. There were days of bright, clear skies, as well as others when a fog-like haze settled across the landscape. The flames may have come within three kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway west of Kenora, but we didn’t see them. The road remained open, although several side roads were blocked. The smoke, however, spread much farther. We saw a pink sun as far east as Corner Brook, Newfoundland, on May 28.

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Cost of Climate Change, Tourism

Should We Still Travel? Reflections from a Warming Canada

In response to people who do not believe climate change is a real issue—and to those who think we should eliminate all long-distance tourism. 

A Personal Journey Amid Crisis

I am in the midst of my third trip across Canada.

We are living in a society that appears to be critically damaging the lives of future generations through a combination of overconsumption and the overproduction of greenhouse gases. This is not just a policy issue—it’s a moral one. I see the signs of global warming all around me—and they are getting worse.

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