Thursday, 10:00 PM version

FIRE, WEATHER,
SMOKE AND MIRRORS:
Wildland Fire and People in the
Rocky Mountains

Cliff White
Canadian Rockies Bison Initiative
September, 2018
Use Banff, Canmore and broader Rocky
Mtn region to evaluate:
 Ecosystem overview: main indicator species,
interactions, general role of fire
 Fire weather and climate change: “fire triangle”,
fire weather index, past and future climate change
 Human role in long-term fire regime: historic
cultural burning practices, timing, severity of
burning and smoke output
 Restoring ecosystems: safe “FireScapes” to
manage fire to reduce human health impacts,
property risk, and negative ecosystem effects
 OUR ASSIGNMENT FOR CANMORE AREA!!
 1889
BANFF NATIONAL PARK

Town of Banff and

Cave and Basin
Hotspring

2011

Stoney Nakoda
First Nation Homelands
 Birthplace of Parks:
Madison Junction and
National Park Mountain,
Yellowstone National
Park

1900

Shoshone Tribal Homelands 1996

 CAST OF CHARACTERS
RAVEN MAGPIE CANADA
JAY

HUMANS

WOODPECKERS LYNX WOLF

SEA COUGAR
OTTER GRIZZLY BLACK
BEAR BEAR

MUSSELS/
SALMON DEER/ BARK MOOSE BEAVER CARIBOU SNOW- GOAT & BISON
SEA-
ELK BEETLES SHOE SHEEP
URCHIN
HARE

PINE WILLOW LICHENS ASPEN/

PHYTO- SEDGES CEDAR BERRY GRASSLANDS
DOUGLAS- BIRCH
PLANKTON & FORBS BUSHES
FIR

SUNLIGHT, FIRE, SOIL PRODUCTIVITY AND MOISTURE

1979 JASPER FIRE HISTORY STUDY
Gerry Tande,
University of Alberta
Jasper Athabasca Valley
Fire History
(from Tande 1979)
Rocky Mountain
Conservation Issue:

Loss of human ignitions,

changes in climate, 1871

and fire suppression

policies alter plant
communities, wildlife
habitat and aquatic
ecosystems 2008

Teton Canyon, Idaho

 SPATIAL VARIATION OF FIRE REGIMES

Banff National Park Yellowstone National Park

Declining fire frequency
 Fire
Triangle
Pacific North American Teleconnection Pattern
500 mb Temperature
anomaly anomaly

Positive
Phase

Negative
Phase
 Blocking high pressure
pushed out by cold front

August 15, 2018 July 17, 2014

 Peyto Glacier 1905 LONG-TERM TREE-RING DATA
TEMPERATURE CHANGE
Dr. Brian Luckman research
Glaciers reached
1981 Maximum extent
about 1800, major
retreat since then,
Canadian Rockies warmer springs,
more rain versus
snow

2005

(from Luckman and Wilson 2005)

Long-term Precipitation Data (from tree-rings)
(from Watson and Luckman 2001)

20-30 year cycle (Pacific Decadal Oscillation)

 Banff National
(Historic data from Rogeau
And Gilbride 1994) Park:
Fire and
Monthly
Weather
Banff Weather Station
(one of the longest mountain databases in Canada)
Spray River,
May 2001

Charlie Van Wagner,

Dennis Quintilio

High Intensity
Burning Days

Ian Pengelly
Mark Heathcott
 FIRE WEATHER TREND
AND BURN AREA 1901 TO 2002
Relative burn area
compared to long-term
fire cycle
(green circles)

Is negative weather relative

change ecologically
significant?

Is decline in burning due

to weather or cultural
change?

“Smoke and Mirrors” (from Girardin et al. 2012)

Actual Canada Fire Weather Index Statistics
(30 years data)
(from
Simard,
1973)
 CLIMATE CHANGE:
Number of Fire Spread Days

Predicted from
monthly data from
3 global circulation
models (GCMs)
(Wang et al. 2015)
 THE “UPSHOT” ON CLIMATE
CHANGE AND FIRE
• Research that explains lower fire frequency in
the Canadian Rockies due to cooler moister
climatic conditions is questionable;
• Frequency of extreme burn days likely about
the same for the period 1890 to 2010, but now
possibly increasing (early springs, hotter
temperatures);
• New approaches to understand past, present,
and future fire regimes must integrate both
climate and cultural change
So what caused the massive decline in burn
area over the last 100-200 years??
Fire
Box
CHANGES IN CULTURE CAUSING
ISSUES IN Y2Y ECOSYSTEMS
(from Weirzchowski ,
Flannigan and Heathcott
1998)
Fire history: Fire scar and interval
analysis, traditional knowledge

“Burn early, burn often”

 Time-Since-Fire Analysis
Fire Cycle
≈ 140 years

Fire Cycle
Fire Cycle ≈ 70 years
>1000 years

(from Rogeau et al. 2004; Van Wagner et al. 2006)

Fire
Box
Nick Morant photo Fire suppression:
c. 1955
Greater fuel biomass,
continuity & flammability

2010
1921
BANFF PARK:
Middle Bow Valley
Increasing fuel biomass
and continuity

1985 2003
LAKE LOUISE COMMUNITY AND SKI AREA
Historically diverse
vegetation due to frequent
fires (50-100 year fire
frequency on SW facing
slopes)

1931

2003
 Effect of Suppressing Fires
Preventing fires and suppressing small fires
works in low and moderate fire danger
periods
The Fire Fighter’s
Dilemma:

“We don’t put fires

out, we just put
them off to a drier,
windier day when
there is more fuel.”
 INGREDIENTS
For the Perfect “FIRESTORM”
1700s-1800s Reduction in cultural burning

1800s- 2000 Massive increase in fuels

1970s to 2000 Cool moist decadal cycle
1970s onwards Global climate warming

2000 onwards? Warm dry decadal cycle

MASSIVE WILDFIRES?
 Kootenay Parkway, 1995, 2003, 2017, 2018 (M-P Rogeau photo)

BC Fires 2018
Icefields Parkway, 2010 (Parks Canada)

Mt. Wardle, 2018 (Parks Canada)

 1983
Good cure for
ecosystem health:
Restore long-term
fire regimes

Parks Canada prescribed

fires:
Cool season
burns to reduce
fuels, rejuvenate
aspen, improve 1992
wildlife habitat
APRIL 1993
SAWBACK 2
PRESCRIBED
FIRE
Cool season burn:
Moist soils, no
holdover smoke,
95% OUT the next
day
Norquay Fire (April 1994):
View from the Mayor of Banff’s house
1994: Moratorium on BNP prescribed burning
1994-96:SCIENTIFIC AND PUBLIC REVIEW
 BANFF
MONTANE
RESTORATION

Elk Relocation
1998-2001

Prescribed
Burning
Elk Culling
after 2006
Bow Valley Study
and 1997 Park
Management
Plan Direction:
“Maintain 50% of the
long-term fire rotation
or 14 square km of
fire per year”
(4000 acres/year)
Banff Prescribed Burning Program:
One of the most advanced in North America
Fire Management Mix:
Banff National Park
“Firescapes”:

For safe,
long-term
restoration of fire
“FIRESCAPE”
What can technology do for us??
Weather Forecasts

Fire Growth Modelling

 Evening burnout on
boundary, Prince Albert
National Park

Prince Albert
National Park

“Box and Burn”

Weyerhauser
Timber Lease
 1921
Excellent “Firescape”
Example:
2003 Fairholme
Prescribed Fire

2001
Canmore and
Fairholme Bench
looking into
Banff Park
 1999 2000

Banff 2002

1997

Mountain pine beetle migration through BNP

Banff East
Boundary
Survey Line

Ian Pengelly
Banff East
Boundary
Fuel Break
Los Alamos, New Mexico
After April, 2000
Cerro Grande Fire
Integrated Landscape-Level Fire Management
Use of a Balanced Approach

Fire

Banff

Fire > Mechanical

Mechanical > Fire

Mechanical
Canmore
Banff Boundary
Fuel Break
Project
(March, 2002)
Fairholme Bench, Banff National Park: East boundary fuelbreak

Banff National Park

East Gate
2003 Banff Fire Weather Pattern
(50 year drought)

* burning periods

* * * ** * *** *
March April May June July August
 Progress of 2003
Fairholme Burn

Fire

Fire > Mechanical

2003 Banff Fire

Weather Pattern
* burning periods
Mechanical > Fire
ERC

Mechanical
* * * ** *
*** *
March April May June July August
 Burn Run,
Banff Boundary
August 15, 2003
(held by spring burns
and fuelbreak)

View from town

of Canmore
FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF THE
URBAN INTERFACE
Fort McMurray, Alberta May 16-18, 2016

2400 structures
>$5 Billion
Climate Change? or Smoke and Mirrors?
“From your roof to your region”

“FireSmart Community?
 “Burn early,
burn light
burn often”

FIRE USE
ACTION
“FireSmart” community
LINES
with standard fuel
treatments and structural
“Have a plan,
specifications for fire
protection zones Stick with it!”
 Establish Special Zones where Community
Fire Protection is the Priority
- Local fire departments
are lead agency for
fuel management in the
zone;
- FireSmart structures
highest priority on edge
Canmore Community Zone of towns;
- Design fuel breaks and
Fire Use Action Lines
for routine maintenance
Fire use action line with fire, and
emergency burnout
operations
COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY: Municipal and
Volunteer Fire Departments are the key managers of
community zone, maintain the “Fire Use Action Line” :
(e.g. local fire departments doing spring maintenance
burns on Carrot Creek fuelbreak).
CARROT CREEK FUEL BREAK:
A few days after a light spring burn
No holdover smokes…..green grass

PROMOTE
ECOLOGICAL
HEALTH:
“Fear is a good
starter but a
poor finisher.”
 This… Not This

Los Alamos after

Bow Valley, May 2003 April, 2000 fire
Our Assignment: 1) FireSmart our houses and local community;
2) Encourage Alberta, Parks Canada and towns of Banff/Canmore
to increase their efforts to build/maintain fuel breaks and do cool
season prescribed burning in the valley.

“Burn early, burn often”

 QUESTIONS?
DISCUSSION?

Email: cliffawhite@gmail.com
Telephone: 403-760-0203
http://lensoftimenorthwest.com/
Acknowledgements:
Ian Pengelly, Mark Heathcott, Brian Low
Jane Park, Marie-Pierre Rogeau,
Fire/Veg Specialists
Tom Hurd, Jesse Whittington, Blair Fyten
Dave Norcross, Mark Hebblewhite
Wildlife Biologists
Dave Dalman, Eco Mgmt.
Bob Haney, Perry Jacobson
and Ian Syme, Chief Park
Wardens
Heather Dempsey, Mary
Dalman, Jackie Syroteuk,
Wendy Karhoffer, Communications
Charlie Zinkan, Bill Fisher, Jillian Roulet,
Kevin Van Tighem BNP Super Supts.
Banff Advisory Groups
Researchers and Techs