Alberta Wildfire

Question 1

What are the characteristics of an eruption by a strombolian/composite volcano?

Answer 1

Thick magma, large, cone shaped, violent explosions, more frequent, short flows or lava.

Question 2

What is the definition of a natural hazard?

Answer 2

Extreme natural events that can cause loss of life, extreme damage to property and disrupt human activities.

Question 3

List 3 primary impacts of a tsunami

Answer 3

Loss of life, damage to infrastructure and damage to the environment.

Question 4

Which town was engulfed by the fire?

Answer 4

Fort McMurray

Question 5

How long was the fire smouldering for?

Answer 5

8 months afterwards

Question 6

How many buildings were destroyed?

Answer 6

2400 buildings

Question 7

How much land was impacted by the fire?

Answer 7

590,000 hectares of land

Question 8

What were the estimated costs?

Answer 8

$5.3 billion

Question 9

How many people were evacuated?

Answer 9

88,000 people

Question 10

How long until first people could return?

Answer 10

1 month

Question 11

What caused the fire?

Answer 11

Manmade but no evidence it was deliberate

Question 12

Causes and contributary factors:

Answer 12

The fire was a crown fire and made up of multiple fires, started in a remote area south-west of Fort McMurray, the fire was under control until the wind shifted direction, This caused the first to move towards Fort McMurray (the largest town in Alberta), thermally enhance imagery, shows erratic spread, spotting, fire jumped 1km distances over the river in some locations and created problems for controlling the fire

Question 13

What were the weather conditions?

Answer 13

Lack of winter snowfall, early snow melt, warmer than average temperatures, April was very hot and low humidity

Question 14

What is the science behind the explosive McMurray wildfire and how the inferno is creating its own weather?

Answer 14

Fort McMurray saw about 60% of its average precipitation January-April 2016. In addition, just four-hundredths of an inch of precipitation had fallen April 14 May 3rd, 2016

Question 15

Name things that can make the hazards worse for the inhabitants of an area at risk.

Answer 15

Population growth, urbanisation, absence of choice and changing the degree of a hazard

Question 16

What triggered the Mt St Helens eruption in 1980?

Answer 16

An injection of magma at shallow depth below the volcano

Question 17

Give an example of preparedness after a tsunami.

Answer 17

Tsunami warning systems, education programmes, practice drills and evacuation plans

Question 18

Give an example of how volcanic eruptions can be predicted.

Answer 18

monitor changes using GPS, satellites, seismometers and gas detection

Question 19

economic impacts

Answer 19

Most expensive natural disaster in Canadian history with estimated insured losses of £3.7 billion, total costs were approximately $9 billion, 14.6% of the national workforce in the oil and gas extraction industry work in this area and reduction of 25% of Canadas daily oil production

Question 20

Social impacts

Answer 20

Evacuation of 90,000 people, 2400 homes and building burnt down, restricted movement - jobs affected, power supply disruption, water supplies contaminated due to untreated water used by firefighters and from the damaged properties, water had to be boiled until august 2016, anxiety about future and more fires in the future and 80% of town now rebuilt

Question 21

Environmental impacts

Answer 21

Severe damage to forest ecosystem due to fire intensity, smouldering fires for long period due to thick peat layer, several tonnes CO2 released, air pollution incline mercury, lead and organic compounds, smoke reached the USA and Gulf of Mexico, contaminated water courses due to ash being washed of the land after heavy rain fall and large quantity of waste from damaged homes

Question 22

Political impacts

Answer 22

Political debate about future risks and climate change, potentially lengthening of fire season, criticism of the government due to budget cuts in April 2016, government had to oversee evacuation liaise with emergency services, coordination of phased safe return of evacuees and coordination of reconstruction programmes, permissions etc

Question 23

Immediate responses

Answer 23

Monitoring of the fire, using ground and satellite data, meteorological data used to forecast the likely direction of the fires track, fire warnings and emergency services on standby, mass evacuation programme, Alberta government declared state of emergency, triggering military support

Question 24

Medium term responses

Answer 24

Clean up began in June and residents were allowed to return to begin cleaning up and rebuilding

Question 25

How many different organisations/sectors are involved in the reporting?

Answer 25

Government agencies, fire departments, emergency management organisations, environmental monitoring agencies and media and communication outlets.

Question 26

How would you describe the human impact of the fire?

Answer 26

Thousands forced to evacuate their homes, smoke causes respiratory issues and worsens air quality, damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure and trauma, anxiety and loss of personal belongings

Question 27

Which town was most affected by the wildfire?

Answer 27

Fort McMurray

Question 28

Describe the damage caused by the fire?

Answer 28

Thousands of homes and buildings destroyed in Fort McMurray, millions of hectares of forests and land burned, roads utilities and public facilities damaged and billions of dollars in losses, affecting industries like oil production

Question 29

How many of the homes were destroyed in Beacon Hill?

Answer 29

70% of homes approximately 447 homes

Question 30

Was the town totally engulfed by the fire?

Answer 30

No but Beacon Hill, Abasand and waterways suffered extensive damage with large proportions destroyed.

Question 31

What were some of the evacuees accommodated?

Answer 31

In emergency shelters, community centres, schools and campgrounds

Question 32

What were the eyewitness accounts describing?

Answer 32

Massive flames spreading quickly, dark smoke blanketing the sky making it hard to breath or see, chaos fast evacuations with traffic jams and people fleeing in panic, destruction of homes, trees and neighbourhoods consumed by fire and strangers helping each other during the crisis

Question 33

What is the role of leading politicians during the reporting of the fire?

Answer 33

Providing updates sharing accurate and timely information with the public, ensuring resources mobilising funding and support for firefighting and recovery, supporting evacuees coordinating aid and assistance for displaced residents, reassuring the public offering leadership and calming fears during the crisis

Question 34

What resources were sent by air force?

Answer 34

Sent water bombers and helicopters to help fight the fires

Question 35

What were the different components of weather forecasters reports?

Answer 35

Wind conditions spreading the fire quicker, high temperatures contributing to fire intensity, low humidity increases fire risk, lack of rain or thunderstorms that could either help or worsen the situation and monitoring smoke levels and hazardous air for health advisories

Question 36

What sort of notice were people given?

Answer 36

Evacuation orders to leave immediately in high-risk areas, warnings that evacuation could become necessary soon, instructions on evacuation routes, shelters and emergency contacts

Question 37

How close were people to the flames when they were driving out of town?

Answer 37

Extremely close to the flames

Question 38

Which important organisation was not in the news reports?

Answer 38

Alberta emergency management agency

Question 39

How was social media used during the evacuation?

Answer 39

Sharing updates, coordinating help, spreading alerts and connecting families