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Human-caused fires make up 100% of Alberta's wildfires so far this year: Forestry minister
'We expect that almost all of the wildfires we've experienced so far this year are human-caused, given the point we're at in the season and the types of weather we're seeing, ' said Todd Loewen, minister for forestry and parks.
All of the 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest right now are human-caused, Todd Loewen, minister for forestry and parks, said on Wednesday.
Loewen's comment came during Wednesday's weekly Alberta wildfire update, where he urged citizens living in forested areas to obey all local fire bans and restrictions.
More than 170 wildfires have been put out across the province so far this year.
Currently, 63 wildfires are burning the province's forest protection area, with seven mutual aid fires. A mutual aid wildfire is a wildfire outside of the Forest Protection Area of Alberta in which Alberta Wildfire assists the lead agency.
This wildfire is classified as out of control at approximately 1500 hectares, the Alberta government reports.
"I urge you to assess your property for wildfire danger and take any preventive action you can to address these risks," Loewen said. "This includes breaking up fuel sources that could ignite a structure, removing trees in close proximity to your home, and properly maintaining your gutters and roofs to rid the materials that could easily ignite such as leaves and dry needles."
Loewen added that community members should be aware of fire bans in the area.
"These preventative measures play a crucial role in reducing human-caused wildfires when risk levels are high," he said.
"We expect that almost all of the wildfires we've experienced so far this year are human-caused, given the point we're at in the season and the types of weather we're seeing."
According to Josee St-Onge, an information officer with Alberta Wildfire, many regions of the province are expecting cool, wet weather. However, she cautioned that this might not be sufficient to alleviate the fire risk.
"We need significant and continued rain to overcome the drought conditions that we are experiencing across many parts of the province," she said.
"Snow has melted and exposed dead and dry vegetation which is extremely flammable for wildfire. Until vegetation green-up happens, wildfires will easily ignite and can spread very quickly."
Last year, the UCP government had to hire out-of-province arson investigators due to the uncharacteristically destructive wildfire season.
It was suspected that arson, not purported climate change, was to blame for a number of the large fires.
Throughout the 2023 wildfire season, 1,094 fires burnt a record 2.2 million hectares. The five-year average is 1,110 wildfires, though 2023 saw 10 times the amount of land burned.
