One glimpse at the August 2024 wildfire incident map of Western North America and one might have thought half the continent was on fire. Oregon had declared a statewide wildfire state of emergency through September. California was grappling with the Park Fire, the fourth largest in the state’s history. New Mexico was recovering from flash floods exacerbated by the South Fork and Salt fires. The National Interagency Fire Center was reporting 85 large wildfires requiring active management, with nearly 30,000 wildland firefighters and support staff deployed, and evacuation orders in place for 20 fires. Meanwhile, Canada dealt with the incineration of the scenic and popular tourist town of Jasper and the evacuation of Saddle Hills County in Alberta, also requiring emergency measures to sustain incident operations including needing to mobilize international support through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Fire services worldwide are increasingly engaged in protecting communities and natural resources, in geographies as diverse as North America, Chile, Siberia, Greece, Australia, and South Africa.
Chris Anthony et al.
Read full article by Chris Anthony et al. in Stanford Social Innovation Review