Forest fires—truth going up in flames

Until the recent Canadian wildfires sent plumes of smoke over the densely populated cities around the Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard, few people in those cities had ever experienced the weird orange haze of a forest fire or the temporary spike in fine particulates and pervasive smell of smoke. And understandably, many people reacted with some alarm. We city dwellers typically only see wildfires on television, usually alongside footage of fire crews and water bombers valiantly trying to put them out, which creates the impression they are somehow unnatural events that must be avoided at all costs. Of course, in reality, forest fires are not only natural but are essential to the life cycle of the forest ecosystem.

Unfortunately, politicians, reporters and climate activists rushed in to exploit this unusual event to push their agenda. They made a lot of glib claims about climate change causing wildfires to become more common. For instance, Prime Minister Trudeau tweeted “We’re seeing more and more of these fires because of climate change.”