Category Archives: Disaster

Disaster, Energy

Earthquakes shake up areas north of Edmonton

Leave a comment

By David Boles, St Albert Gazette, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Residents living just north of the Alberta capital may have felt the ground shake beneath them on more than one occasion in the last few weeks.

Several earthquakes have been felt in central and northern Alberta, including one in Sturgeon County on April 18 that Earthquakes Canada says registered at a magnitude of 4.1.

While relatively rare, earthquakes in Wild Rose Country are not uncommon.

“There are natural earthquakes, that are related to the movement of tectonic plates off the west coast were plates are sliding past one another and colliding,” said John Cassidy, an earthquake seismologist with Natural Resources Canada.

Another tremor to hit rural Alberta came on Saturday, when a 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck northeast of Fort Saskatchewan.

Earthquakes Canada says the first quake was industry-related, something Cassidy says is an example of an induced earthquake.

Continue reading Earthquakes shake up areas north of Edmonton →
Disaster

2025 at the Cortes Island Fire Department

With 2025 coming to a close, it seems like a good time to get an update from the Cortes Island Fire Department. Currently, there are about 38 people working out of the island’s two fire halls, with another 20 enrolled in the wildfire brigade. 

Chief Eli McKenty noted, “I haven’t totalled this year’s call volume yet, but last year we had 105 calls. This year, we’re likely slightly higher at around 110.” 

Continue reading 2025 at the Cortes Island Fire Department →
Disaster, Forests, Indigenous Nations

Amid climate impacts, leading Secwépemc firekeeper shares ‘a better way of looking after the land’

By Aaron Hemens, IndigiNews, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Growing up in Nlakaʼpamux and syilx territories in the 1970s, Joe Gilchrist can’t remember a single summer when wildfire smoke ever trapped him indoors. 

The Merritt, B.C., region’s semi-arid landscape still saw scorching summer temperatures back then, he recalled, but not the record-breaking fire seasons of recent years. 

“That was thanks to our work that the Indigenous ancestors did on the land,” said Gilchrist, a Secwépemc Nation member who now lives on Skeetchsn Indian Band’s reserve with his daughter.

“Then, everything was still fairly spaced out; the fires were easier to handle.”

Although settlers’ wildfire suppression efforts had become the dominant form of land stewardship when he was young, Indigenous communities in the Nicola Valley were still using fire to “cleanse” the land, Gilchrist said.

Continue reading Amid climate impacts, leading Secwépemc firekeeper shares ‘a better way of looking after the land’ →
Disaster

Canada’s 2023 Wildfire Season Linked to 82,000 Deaths Worldwide

By Michelle Gamage, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Researchers have crunched data on excess deaths and calculated that Canada’s 2023 wildfire season shortened the lives of 82,000 people worldwide.

The smokiest days caused about 5,400 acute extra deaths across North America alone, according to the research published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

That means wildfire smoke is about as deadly as prostate cancer, Michael Brauer told The Tyee.

Continue reading Canada’s 2023 Wildfire Season Linked to 82,000 Deaths Worldwide →
Disaster

Purchasing an Early Wildfire Detection System for Cortes Island

Cortes Island is close to raising the funds for a wildfire detection system that identifies fires within minutes of their inception. In today’s interview Claudia van der Vorm explains what SenseNet is and Cortes Island Fire Chief Eli McKenty says why he thinks we need it. 

 Claudia van der Vorm: “SenseNet is a Canadian company based out of Vancouver. They work on very early wildfire detection, in most cases under the minute, they can detect a fire when it’s still in smouldering stages. So when we don’t smell it, we don’t see it, in areas hard to access. They have a combination of sensors, camera, satellite, and a platform that allows that early detection, prevention and mitigation.”

Continue reading Purchasing an Early Wildfire Detection System for Cortes Island →