How can Canada fight its wildfires?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 28 October 2024
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This year wildfires in Canada have caused devastation to the country’s treasured town of Jasper. The wildfires have ravaged the landscape, destroyed communities and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
The causes are many, and fires are a natural occurrence. But humans, and the climate, are making them worse. As the number and intensity of fires increase, the methods used to both prevent and fight them may need to change.
How can Canada fight its wildfires?
Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Editor: Tara McDermott Technical producer: Cameron Ward
Contributors: Mike Flannagan, Professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia Liz Goldman, World Resources Institute John Keeley, senior research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and an adjunct professor at the University of California in Los Angeles Cordy Tymstra, former wildfire science coordinator for the Alberta Wildfire Management Branch
(Image: Getty/ Anadolu)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one. |
| 0:06.0 | I'm Siddhartha Cesset, an assistant commissioner of Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:11.0 | I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects, |
| 0:16.6 | identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life. |
| 0:22.1 | So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next |
| 0:26.0 | fact checking, a feature and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its |
| 0:31.5 | audience and maybe that's you. So if you like this |
| 0:34.6 | podcast check out some others on BBC Sounds. Welcome to the inquiry with me |
| 0:40.4 | Tanya Beckett. One question for expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:50.0 | It was 8 o'clock in the evening on the 22nd of July that many residents of Jasper first heard that |
| 0:56.1 | wildfires were threatening their homes. |
| 0:59.1 | By 9.45 PM, the authorities declared a state of emergency. |
| 1:04.0 | It was just three hours after wildfires to the north and south of the town ignited. |
| 1:10.0 | An estimated 25,000 people fled Jasper and the surrounding National Park. |
| 1:17.0 | Jasper is located in the Rockies in Alberta and is well known to Canada's tourists who travel to see its stunning |
| 1:25.4 | mountain landscapes, glaciers, and diverse wildlife. |
| 1:30.4 | Two days after the town was evacuated, it was engulfed by fire. |
| 1:37.0 | Alberta Premier Daniel Smith fought back tears when she described the scale of the loss. |
| 1:44.1 | For many generations the town of Jasper and the park surrounding it have been a |
| 1:50.9 | source of pride with some of the most beautiful scenery in the |
| 1:57.1 | entire in the world with its mountains and lakes and meadows. |
| 2:06.7 | And to those in Alberta and around the world |
... |
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