Wildland/urban interface (WUI) fires are now among the leading causes of natural disasters in Canada, and their impact on Canadian communities is trending upward. Several federal and provincial policies and programs recognize the need to adapt and become more resilient to increasing wildland fire.
-
-
In early May 2016 Fort McMurray, Alberta (population ~90,000) experienced the largest in a series of increasingly disastrous wildland/urban interface fires to recently occur in Western Canada. More than 2,400 structures were destroyed, insured losses approached $4 billion, and untold hardships now lay ahead for thousands of citizens of Fort McMurray who suffered displacement and disruption.
-
In early May 2016 Fort McMurray, Alberta experienced the largest wildland/urban interface fire in Western Canada. This report investigates why some homes survived with little or no damage, while others were vulnerable to ignition and destroyed.
-
According to a preliminary report released today by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, homes that survived in Fort McMurray in otherwise decimated neighbourhoods were those more resistant to ignition by embers.