Wildfires in The Rockies

GESC 451: Fourth Year Field Studies

Introduction

The topic I've chosen to study in GESC-451 are wildfires in the Rocky mountains. Throughout this story map I will integrate knowledge gained from time in the field with research I've done from home. Topics such as climate change, causes, regrowth, weather, impacts, and indigenous knowledge will all be touched on. Each of these topics are an important aspect of wildfires and must be examined to gain a true understanding.


Our Trip

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Map of our destinations through The Rockies

During the GESC-451 field studies trip we visited 5 different national parks. These Included Waterton Lakes National Park, Glacier National Park, Kootenay National Park, Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. We flew from Toronto and landed Calgary (Labeled 1). From Calgary we drove to Waterton Lakes National Park (labeled 2). In Waterton Lakes we went on one long hike to lower and upper Rowe lakes. On the hike we got the opportunity to see a healthy forest and a forest that had been burnt in a fire. After spending three days in Waterton, we drove to Glacier National Park. Here we spent three days at the Glacier Institute (labeled 3). In Glacier National Park we saw five different fire sites. We also went on three different hikes in the national park. Once again, these hikes provided us the chance to see what an old healthy forest looks like. From here we spent an entire day driving from Glacier National Park to Kananaskis (labeled 4). On the drive from Glacier we saw four more fire sites. From Kananaskis we took a day trip to Athabasca Glacier. On the way to Athabasca we saw a fire site at the Saskatchewan river crossing and plenty of smoke due to an ongoing fire in Jasper National Park. We spent four days in Kananaskis before the final day which was spent flying back to Waterloo from Calgary (labeled 1).

Photos of the places we visited (all photos were taken by me)


Background

Wildfires have a huge impact on the environment and people. Due to climate change, the annual number of fires, fire size, annual area burned, and fire season length have all increased in recent decades. In the Rockies, the annual average temperature has risen by 2 degrees since the 1950s (Parker, 2017). The weather has also become more variable (Parker, 2017). This will lead to an increased frequency of droughts creating ideal conditions for wildfires (Halabut & Birchall, 2022). Not only is fire activity increasing but the boreal and mid latitude forests are most at risk (Ellis et al., 2022). Some areas such as the forest surrounding the Avalanche trail in Glacier National Park are highly at risk of a fire. This is an old growth forest and if it were to burn, it's likely that the species of trees living there will never return as a result of climate change. This means that fires have the power to permanently change ecosystems. Under normal circumstances, wildfires are an important part of a healthy ecosystem (Tepley et al., 2022). Increased wildfire activity is changing this.

The Indigenous People recognized thousands of years ago that wildfires are important to a healthy ecosystem. They used this knowledge to their advantage by practicing "cultural burning". This refers to the intentional ignition of smaller controlled fires to promote ecological activity (Indigenous Fire Practices Shape Our Land - Fire (U.S. National Park Service), n.d.). This brought improved health to the vegetation and animals resulting in a healthy ecosystem. It meant that the indigenous would be provided with food and clothing. While staying at the Glacier Institute we were taught about the Blackfeet people and how they practiced cultural burning in Glacier National Park. During the 20th century it was believed that suppression was the best form of wildfire management. During this time the cultural burning was not accepted. Views about cultural burning have changed in recent decades due advancements in land management practices. Cultural burns are also known as prescribed burns by the western science perspective. Wildfires are so important to a healthy ecosystem that tree species such as Jack Pine and Lodge Pole Pine rely on the heat from fires to open their cones and release the seeds. Lodge Pole pine have also become resistant to fires by growing thick corky bark and dropping their branches to prevent fires from climbing up the tree and burning the top.

Each of the graphs below show how temperatures have changed in each of the places we visited. The graphs are showing a general trend of increased temperatures since the early 20th century. It seems that the summer months have experienced the most warming. As mentioned above, the increase in temperature has resulted in increased wildfire activity. This will continue as global warming continues to worsen.

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

The graphs below show how the mean annual temperature is projected to rise in the Fernie, Brazeau Lake, Kananaskis, and the Banff region. This projection is using the "business as usual" scenario which assumes that greenhouse gas emissions will continue to increase at current rates until the end of the century. The Fernie region is roughly the location of Waterton Lakes National Park. Brazeau Lake is the region containing Athabasca Glacier. Finally the Kananaskis region also includes Kootenay National Park. From the graphs it can be seen that the mean annual temperature is projected to increase by roughly 5 degrees Celsius at all locations by the end of the century. The source used for these graphs is Canadian and therefore does not provide data for Glacier National Park. It's likely that Glacier National Park will experience a rate of warming that is similar to the Canadian regions.

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

The Climate Atlas of Canada is the site in which the graphs were pulled from. This site features a map and graphs showing information about climate change in Canada. Click the link to further explore how climate change will effect different regions of Canada.

Human exposure to wildfire activity is increasing. Fires cause loss of life, adverse health affects from exposure to smoke, and the destruction of buildings and homes (Tepley et al., 2022). This increased exposure is caused by climate change and the expansion of human populations into fire prone areas. Typically just the large fires gain media attention but both large and small fires cause equally severe impacts. This past summer the media was full of stories about wildfires which is a good indication that human exposure has increased.


Observed Fire Sites

The following map has each fire site that we saw on our journey through Alberta, Montana, and British Columbia. The data used for Canadian wildfires has a lower resolution than the fire data used for Montana, hence the difference in shape of the data.

1

Waterton Lakes Fire

Upon arriving in Waterton Lakes National park, it became very obvious that a fire had burnt through this area. This fire happened in 2017. It burnt 188 square kilometers and most if not all the trees died in the burn. This is a good indication that the fire was very intense. While we were in Waterton Lakes National Park there was an extreme fire warning. The forest and soil seemed moderately dry.

2

Red Eagle Fire

This 2006 fire site was spotted at the beginning of our drive on "Going To The Sun Road" in Glacier National park. It was opposite to St Mary Lake than us and burnt an area of 131 square kilometers.

3

Reynolds Fire

This fire happened in 2015 and burnt an area of 19.3 square kilometers. We drove through this fire at the beginning of the "Going To The Sun Road". There was a fire ban in Glacier National park the entire time we were there.

4

Howe Ridge Fire

The Howe Ridge fire was opposite of Lake McDonald at the end of the "Going To The Sun Road". This fire happened in 2008 and burnt an area of 59.6 square kilometers. The Howe Ridge Fire burnt in an area that was already burnt in the Robert Fire. The photo shows very little regrowth after the two fires.

5

Robert Fire

The Robert fire happened in 2003 and burnt an area of 220.5 square kilometers. The Robert Fire was significantly larger than the Howe Ridge fire. The area that was burnt by both fires has been repeatedly burnt and not had very much time to recover. The Image above is of an area not burnt by the Howe Ridge Fire. As you can see from the photo this area has substantial regrowth.

6

Moose Creek Fire

The Moose creek fire burnt a large area around the Glacier Institute. This fire burnt 296.2 square kilometers in 2001. In order to protect the Glacier Institute, sprinklers were installed to keep the campus wet and resistant to the fire. Not only did the Institute survive the fire but many trees survived the fire. This can be seen from the image above. There are many tall older growth trees with healthy foliage at the top. There is also a significant amount of regrowth happening in this area.

7

Kootenay National Park Fire 1551

There were actually four separate fires in Kootenay National Park. The first is fire 1551.This fire was at the entrance to the park south of highway 93. This fired burned 70.2 square kilometers in 2016. The photo above shows many missing trees from the mountain. The brown, dead trees to the right of the image have likely died from a disease or pest, not the wildfire.

8

Kootenay National Park Fire 1077

The next is fire 1077 located north and west of highway 93. In Canada the fires are numbered in order to keep fire records organized. This fire burned 34 square kilometers in 2017. It can be seen in the image above that a small patch of forest has survived.

9

Kootenay National Park Fire 279

The third fire in Kootenay National Park is fire 279 located east of highway 93. This fire burned 33 square kilometers in the year 2000. This fire is the smallest of the fires in Kootenay National Park.

10

Kootenay National Park Fire 279

The fourth and final fire in Kootenay National Park is fire 279. This fire was the largest with a burnt area of 137.3 square kilometers in 2002. While driving through the valley, I noticed that the east side of the valley was brunt more than the west. The fire data confirms this.

11

Saskatchewan River Crossing Fire 799

This fire was located on the south side of the Saskatchewan river valley. The fire also stayed to the east of highway 93. This fire burned 20 square kilometers in 2014. There is a second fire on the North side of the Saskatchewan river. This second fire is numbered 2440. This fire burned 6.8 square kilometers in 2009.

12

Corral Creek Fire

The final fire is the Coral Creek Fire in Jasper National Park. This fire was ongoing while we visited Athabasca glacier. Since the fire was ongoing, this fire is not represented on the map as the map only shows wildfire data up to and including 2022. The point on the map is the rough location of the fire. We didn't see this fire but we saw its smoke. As we approached Jasper National Park, the smoke in the air became thicker. At the Glacier, there was a significant amount of smoke. The image above shows the extent of the smoke in the air. You could smell the smoke and after filling my water bottle with water from the glacier, I could taste the smoke in the water.


Cause

The map below shows many fires near Kootenay National Park. If you click on each of the fires, the cause of the fire will be listed. Only the data of wildfires in Canada have the cause of ignition. Some fires are undefined but many of the fires have a cause. It seems that most of the fires in this area have been cause by lightening. Some of the fires were caused by humans through recreational activity or industry. Of the wildfires we saw in Canada, all except two were started by lightening including the Corral Creek fire. The other two are found in Kootenay National Park and have a cause that is undefined. An article by National Geographic states that 95% of the fires in California are started by human activity (Wildfires, n.d.). Every degree of global warming increases lightening activity by 12% (Wildfires, n.d.).

Map of fires near Kootenay National Park

Aftermath and Regrowth

Before our trip, I had never visited a wildfire site. I was surprised to see there is still burnt bark and charcoal on the trees. I expected the trees to have fallen over and lack all their bark. I was also surprised that there was little regrowth. I know that trees grow slowly but I had not given regrowth too much thought. The damage from the fires varied as we moved from one fire site to another. In Waterton Lakes, there was very little regrowth since the fire is relatively recent (2017). The image to the right is a photo of burnt bark on a tree in Waterton Lakes National Park.

In Waterton Lakes National park, the regrowth was very small. We also noticed a pattern where more trees grew along the sides of the trail. The trees along the side of the trail grew better than those in the forest. This is likely due to a number of factors including sunlight availability, reduced competition, nutrients, and seed dispersal.

Here we can see what the forest floor looks like six years after the wildfire. As you can see there is very little regrowth. In the picture there are many sticks covered by mostly first succession leafy plants, including some grasses with a few lodge pole pine saplings.

This picture shows a plant that was killed in the Big Creek fire. The ground surrounding this plant is relatively bare with mostly first succession plants growing back. There are also a few different species of deciduous tree growing. They're likely Pine and Spruce.

This photo shows the site of the Big Creek fire. You can see that there is substantial regrowth in the form of established trees. It can also be seen that there are many trees which survived the fire. When you compare this to the Waterton Lakes fire, this site looks massively different.

This is a close up picture of the burnt sticks and foliage found on the ground at the Big Creek fire. As you can the the sticks are a very dark brown or black from the burn in 2001.


Weather

The east side of the Rockies are very dry. This is due to the orthographic lifting caused by the Rocky mountains. This is when moist air from the Pacific is lifted up into the atmosphere by the mountains causing it to rain out all the moisture on the West side. As a result, the East side of the Rockies receives very little moisture.

The first few days of our trip were very hot and dry. The temperature was 26-30 degrees Celsius from August 26th-30th. There were clear skies and no rain. On the evening of the 29th in Montana, a cold front rolled through and brought a thunderstorm. The second day in Montana saw 27.1 mm of rain (US Department of Commerce, n.d.). The weather for the following two days was overcast and cold. On September 2nd there were clear skies and a high of 27 degrees Celsius in Kananaskis. The last few days were much cooler and overcast with some rain and even hail. The weather was variable. In general we experienced some very hot dry periods with one period of intense rainfall. In the video below you can see how rainy it was during our second day in Montana. Typically during the summer there are only two or maybe three waterfalls. While we were there, you can see that there were many waterfalls and some with a high rate of flow.

Video of the rain during the Avalanche Trail hike


Conclusion

My understanding of wildfires have been greatly enhanced by spending time in the field and researching from home. I now understand that wildfires have positive and negative impacts on both people and the environment. Under normal circumstances wildfires are crucial to a healthy ecosystem but due to global warming, this is changing. Increased wildfire activity is now starting to negatively affect ecosystems. In order to ensure that wildfires remain as a positive ecological process, drastic changes need to be made in order to stop global warming.

Group photo on Athabasca Glacier


Sources

Corral Creek wildfire under control, not expected to grow. (2023, September 6). News.  https://www.jasperlocal.com/2023/09/06/corral-creek-wildfire-control-not-expected-grow/ 

Ellis, T. M., Bowman, D. M. J. S., Jain, P., Flannigan, M. D., & Williamson, G. J. (2022). Global increase in wildfire risk due to climate‐driven declines in fuel moisture. Global Change Biology, 28(4), 1544–1559.  https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16006 

Halabut, R., & Birchall, S. J. (2022). Wildfire risk and response in Jasper National Park, Alberta: Application of an adaptation readiness framework. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe Canadien, 66(2), 396–401.  https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12702 

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

Indigenous Fire Practices Shape our Land—Fire (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.). Retrieved 31 October 2023, from  https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fire/indigenous-fire-practices-shape-our-land.htm 

Parks Canada Agency, G. of C. (2023, September 11). Current wildfire status.  https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/visit/feu-alert-fire/feudeforet-wildfire 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Tepley, A. J., Parisien, M.-A., Wang, X., Oliver, J. A., & Flannigan, M. D. (2022). Wildfire evacuation patterns and syndromes across Canada’s forested regions. Ecosphere, 13(10), e4255.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4255 

US Department of Commerce, N. (n.d.). Climate. NOAA’s National Weather Service. Retrieved 31 October 2023, from  https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=mso 

Wang, X., Swystun, T., & Flannigan, M. D. (2022). Future wildfire extent and frequency determined by the longest fire-conducive weather spell. Science of The Total Environment, 830, 154752.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154752 

Wildfires: How They Form, and Why They’re so Dangerous. (n.d.). Retrieved 31 October 2023, from  https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/wildfires-how-they-form-and-why-theyre-so-dangerous 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Parker, S. (2017). Let’s Talk about Climate Change: Mountain Region.  https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29637.14563 

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

Hot (+30 °C) Season | Canada | Climate Atlas of Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 22 November 2023, from  https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/hwseason_2030_85 

Group photo on Athabasca Glacier