In the year 2021, Canada had a total of 6,596 forest fires that were a result of the record-breaking heat waves the country suffered. The majority of the fires were in British Columbia, which forced the province to declare a state of emergency on July 20, 2021, which ended on September 14, 2021, as the weather began to change, decreasing the risks of spontaneous fires. A total of $565 million dollars was spent on fighting the advances of wildfires in BC, 181 city-wide evacuations were ordered, and 869,279 hectares of land were burned. The year 2021 was the third worst wildfire year BC has ever seen.
Although each wildfire caused extreme amounts of damage, one wildfire in particular stands out, the Lytton Creek fire. The village of Lytton is situated on the east side of the Fraser River and primarily on the south side of the Thompson River in British Columbia. This village has a population of 250 and in 2021, the entire village burned down. This fire resulted in the death of two citizens of the town. The Lytton fire began on June 30, 2021, and within hours, the entire town had burned to the ground. This sudden onset and fast advancing fire meant that civilians had no warning to begin evacuating which resulted in the death of two citizens of the town. Although the heat waves of 2021 were like nothing ever before experienced in Canada, they will continue to happen due to the effects of global warming. This means more sudden fires and more civilian casualties. Over a year since the tragic Lytton Creek fire, the village is still in ashes where a proud village once stood. It is unfortunate that the village suffered two casualties, but the unfortunate truth is that two casualties from an unprepared village of 250 is the best-case scenario. The truth is, Canada must better protect itself and its people for disasters yet to come.
The benefits of equipping each and every city, town, and village in Canada with one of ESI’s devices provide countless benefits. The devices particulate matter sensing capabilities integrated with meteorological data would give experts necessary data to prepare and implement remediation in areas that have suffered forest fires. Measuring particulate matter gives great insights into the air quality and any potential impact to human health. It can also warn authorities of a situation that could soon become an emergency. The state of emergency for the province was only put into effect after countless fires had already decimated thousands of acres of land. With an ESI device, the data provided would allow the authorities to extrapolate and estimate the impact to the environment over a few days, weeks and even months.