What's at the heart of Sask.'s early wildfire season? Humans, in more ways than one
CBC
Four in five of the wildfires so far in Saskatchewan this year have been caused by humans — the vast majority of them accidentally. But experts say part of the reason they've spread so far, so fast, is another human factor: climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
On the Canadian Prairies this year, the face of "classic climate change" has been the hot and dry conditions that contributed to an aggressive, early wildfire season, with 259 fires reported in Saskatchewan so far, compared to the five-year average of 148 by this time.
While the provincial government is quick to condemn those who may have started any fires, it is just as quick to defend the fossil fuel industry.
This week, for example, Premier Scott Moe was adamant that someone had been charged with arson in relation to one of the major fires that forced people from their homes, a statement that he doubled down on a few days later. The province later went back on that statement.
Conversely, when asked about Saskatchewan's production of the fossil fuels that contribute to climate change, Moe defended them.
"When it comes to what Saskatchewan is producing from a carbon perspective, we should produce more of it and we should displace the much dirtier products in other areas of the world that are having a much larger impact on climate change," he said on Friday.
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has said that about 80 per cent of the fires in the province this year have been the result of human activity. The vast majority of those were caused accidentally by things like a campfire that got away, a spark from an ATV or a controlled burn that wasn't properly monitored.
But 30 fires are being investigated for possibly being intentionally set.
Moe made headlines last week when he was the first to announce that arson charges were laid in two fires, specifically mentioning the Ditch fire that started by Weyakwin. That fire was reported to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency on May 26 and has since grown to more than 170,000 hectares in size.
In response to media inquiries about Moe's announcement, the RCMP issued a news release later that day detailing arson charges laid in relation to fires that were started on May 28 and June 3.
CBC News attempted to get clarification on whether the Ditch fire was a result of arson, including at a news conference on Wednesday this week. When asked about the fact the dates didn't line up, Moe responded, "You might want to look at that … My understanding is that allegedly that fire was lit by an individual. We can get back to you on the details."
Those details were finally clarified Thursday evening in an email from Matthew Glover, the executive director of communications and media relations for the government's executive council.
"Presently there are 30 incidents under active investigation by the SPSA. While the RCMP have only laid charges in two cases so far, we don't yet know the outcome of the rest," Glover wrote. "Unfortunately, there was some confusion regarding the ditch fire and a fire set in a ditch. For that I do apologize."
The world has already warmed 1.3 C above pre-industrial times. Climate scientists say the atmospheric warming, mainly from the human burning of fossil fuels, is causing ever more extreme and damaging weather.
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