Historical fire amnesia | Mayerthorpe Freelancer

As I write this article (in mid-June), there are 16 fires burning in the province of Alberta, much fewer than the 200-300 burning over this time period last year.  I’m grateful for the return of rain and blue skies that we’ve enjoyed so far, with only two smoky days in April.  What I’m not so thrilled about is the usual occurrence of historical amnesia.

It seems that people are already forgetting the recent past, and dropping efforts on fire protective projects, as conditions improve.  Anyone who’s observed human behavior understands this is our common fall-back scenario, when not under pressure.  Will we ever learn?  It reminds me of the denial and bargaining stages of grieving, where an individual tries every option not to seek acceptance and closure, and something we all share in varying degrees.

It is exactly this kind of summer season where we need to press forward, taking advantage of the slower fire season, the conservation of emergency budgets and available time without the exigent pressures of past years.  Fire guards and fuel breaks still await construction.  Replacement of highly volatile timber types for low volatility deciduous ones is slowing.  Prescribed burning has begun to hit the skids.  Once again, we repeat the same tired cycles.