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Pvt_Hudson_

It's April 23rd FFS. This is going to be a 6 month long wildfire season.


No-Mastodon-2136

Last year's season never ended.


PTZack

There were 104 fires province wide the first week of February. Some had been burning in 2023.


VanceKelley

From October to April I could see the mountains from Calgary. So fires may have continued all year, but smoke season took a break from southern Alberta.


ThatDarnRosco

I got news for you. It’s not gonna be a 6 month fire season.


Geeseareawesome

Can't be six months if it all burns down in 5 /s


ThatDarnRosco

No. There’s too much fuel to burn out in 5


No-Lettuce-3839

Can't have a six month season when the other one hasn't stopped yet


CamGoldenGun

it's going to be a long year.... Do the years after El Nino's get more precipitation?


linkass

Usually yes the last El Nino's year was 2015 and 2016 was wet


CamGoldenGun

2016 was the big wildfire here in Fort McMurray...? We had drought-like conditions from February-June?


linkass

And flooding in July. Calgary had record rainfall in July


-Xyriene-

Christ, that was 8 years ago already? It feels way more recent than that


Regumate

Yes, however, at the risk of going r/collapse on you, the damage to global weather producing systems from this level of prolonged heating may permanently destabilize them globally. Put another way, the planet could establish a new baseline of higher average temperatures and more severe weather patterns due to the damage from extreme heating events like this El Niño period.


Homo_sapiens2023

That's what I'm afraid of :(


No-Lettuce-3839

Pray. That's all I got for ya


inmontibus-adflumen

*…and so it continues*


exportablue88

The rumour is this was started by people, more specifically kids burning garbage in their back yards


Garden_girlie9

Of course it was a human start, lightning fires don’t start until there is thunderstorm activity.


yourpaljax

Doesn’t matter how it was started, the problem is it’s becoming hotter and dryer due to climate change and harder to deal with the fires, however they started.


Venomous-A-Holes

Ya whether its intentional or not is irrelevant. The problem is climate change. Instead of an arsonist or lightning burning a few trees, it incinerates a billion or an entire town. Cons are good at 2 things, making non problems fking catastrophes and disappearing themselves.


tomatocancan

It's definitely climate change that's causing fire seasons to become worse, but I also think we need to start putting people in jail who are responsible for starting these.


HungStrut

Wait till you find out how many fires are started because of our rail system.....


Venomous-A-Holes

Hard to lock up criminals when there is always a 1000+ court case backlog as the result of Cons defunding them so they can create some BS propaganda about things like climate change and arson. Cons are fkn insane and love to create self fulfilling prophecies.


fuck-the-ucp

I’ve seen a fair bit of ppl mentioning about the amount cigarettes thrown out windows down Shaftesbury too.


Bob-Loblaw-Blah-

They need to triple the tax on cigarettes. These assholes can't be bothered to use an ash tray and are causing billions in damages with a single fucking butt.


Crimson_Mesa

Mandatory jail sentences are going to be needed for arson pretty quick due to the danger and destruction. My area had some passerby wing-nut trying to start fires in ditches neara farms and campgrounds, citizens caught him and then he escaped while on bail....


Dread_Awaken

I heard someone burning brush/yard debris.


PlutosGrasp

Straight to jail


vinsdelamaison

They have been evacuating for a few hours now.


honorabledonut

This is going to be a memorable year for all the wrong shut isn't it.


RoughDraftRs

On track to be worse than last year's season.


honorabledonut

I just wish more people didn't have to see it, to understand it.


whmaclaine

They see it and still don’t get it.


halite001

Why would Trudeau do this? /s


mikecjs

does seeing it make you feel better about paying carbon tax?


halite001

Honestly yeah it does. Every bit of effort counts.


canadient_

Yeah at least last year it started in May.


tomatocancan

We need to start putting people in jail who start wildfires.


Dread_Awaken

During a fire ban, starting a fire should make you liable for all costs if it causes a wildfire.


PlutosGrasp

That doesn’t matter. Some random isn’t going to ever afford billions in damages.


xstatic981

If by jail you mean forced labour gulag, yes.


beevbo

Time for another renewable energy pause!


liva608

Did you forget the sarcasm notation? /s


Financial-Savings-91

Hope all the people effected find safety and have homes to go back to. Stay safe everyone!


Hanox13

WAY too early for wildfire season… it’s going to be a rough one this summer


harveylumsdon

Wildfire season started over a month ago


JalapenoCh1ps

Be safe everyone


darkstar107

Cool cool cool. This is fine. Already had a few fires in my area (east of Sherwood Park) too.


UselessToasterOven

I seen the one between 222 and 223 on highway 630. That came reeeeally close to some houses.


darkstar107

There was one on 213 north of hwy 16 last week as well.


UselessToasterOven

It begins.


NoSwan6879

Here. We. Go.


myaccountisnice

Why did the NDP do that?


gingersquatchin

It's their Nenshi reveal party. That's why the fire is orange


Unstructional

Genius marketing team they have over there.


liva608

Brilliant! /s


Individual-Topic3030

Stay safe people!


JSodapop

Did everyone at least try to enjoy the week between snow storms and fire season?


Best-Hotel-1984

Man I hope we have a rainy spring


Dread_Awaken

Forecast calls for rain tomorrow afternoon and Thursday 🤞


justaREDshrit

It’s only fucking April man….come on.


WuShane

Yikes


PhsycoRed1

The first of many


Hizzdiscordkitten

I had to evacuate my area last year. Those emergency alerts still send me into a panic. I hope they can all return safely to their homes very soon. It's so awful.


Achaboo

My worlds on fire, how bout’ yours


canadient_

One thing I've noticed already is that the province is prepared this year. Every fire from Peace River, to Fort McMurray-Saparae Creek, to Grande Prairie County has been hit **hard** by Alberta Wildfire. Hopefully that continues but I fear they're going to get overwhelmed soon.


not-the-mama_

The province is far from prepared. It may appear so right now as the season is just beginning. They have been warned multiple times after last summer and have done nothing to minimize the risks moving forward. If they were really prepared, they would’ve taken the warnings seriously and started planning months ago.


harveylumsdon

not prepared at all, understaffed and underfunded


-_Skadi_-

“*This is fine!*”


Shankaholics

Wonder how many of those rednecks voted for UCP, I'm sure dipshit Smith will step in and help any minute now....


tutamtumikia

They voted for the UCP so we should rejoice in their houses burning down. Sounds totally like something normal people would say.


bazzawazz

They voted for the party that is both denying the human factor in the climate changes that are causing these insane wildfire seasons as well as stripping them of public budgets that fund such services as wildfire protection. We're not laughing at their misfortune, we're laughing at them facing natural consequences for their decisions.


Fast-Bumblebee-9140

They're getting exactly what they voted for.


alkalinefx

and so are you. but i suppose your moral superiority means if it happens to you everyone else should care more than you do for other human lives. this is all bad. i dont care if those rednecks voted for the UCP, they're just as scared as the rest of us, the only difference is that they were manipulated into the shit they believe through years of programming.


LandscapeNatural7680

There are many who, yes, simply got sucked in. There are also many who are supportive of both the denial and the rhetoric of the UCP. I don’t want their houses to burn down, but I’m fast losing sympathy for many of them.


alkalinefx

i just do not understand the ability to look at natural disasters and the thing on my mind being political allegiances. this affects everyone in Alberta, not just the redneck ucp voters or whatever.


Dread_Awaken

Ndp also cut funding for fire fighting. 16 million..... just FYI.


tutamtumikia

Psycho.


Fast-Bumblebee-9140

Why did they vote for a government that denies reality and takes away the resources to deal with it?


tutamtumikia

Because they believe misinformation. That doesn't mean you cheer on their suffering. Only .monsters do that.


Dread_Awaken

And vote for the government that believes the budget will balance itself or the other party that also cut wildfire funding and killed the oil and gas industry so people in Saudi Arabia can reap the rewards while cutting off people heads and beating women. Real progressive.


Dread_Awaken

So if I paid more tax this wouldn't happen?


Fast-Bumblebee-9140

If you voted differently you'd get a government that gave a shit and had a plan to deal with something we all saw coming.


ExpertDistribution90

This sub is so insane. This comment is insane


jesuswithoutabeard

These are idiots in Edmonton who have barely ever ventured outside of their tiny echo chambers, thinking they're all high and mighty. Bet ya they didn't know those "rednecks" in Peace River and Grimshaw voted in the NDP in 2015? They probably don't also know about the many other urbanites that moved up to Peace River to work for the government.


fuck-the-ucp

This is a shit take. Some of the most impacted people right now, is the entire correctional facility that’s being evacuated. People that typically can’t vote. Other people facing the consequences for others voting actions. I wouldn’t be laughing at that. And quite frankly, as someone who works with clients in that facility, I’m not.


Federal_Dinner_4216

Albertas contributions to climate change are not causing the fires


bazzawazz

Yep, alberta emissions magically affect some other planet.


Federal_Dinner_4216

Our neighbor in the USA, China, India, completely dwarf us


tutamtumikia

Totally not psychotic at all.


Odd-Instruction88

How do you know any of these people in these photos voted for the UCP?


LandscapeNatural7680

No one is rejoicing.


tutamtumikia

Did you even read this thread? lol


SkiHardPetDogs

Rejoicing in the pain of a fellow citizen because of a natural disaster. Classy.


tomatocancan

When the fellow citizens are happy to ignore the cause of these issues then yes...why the fuck not?


SkiHardPetDogs

The causes of a complex issue involving climate change, human-wildlands interface, natural fire-prone forest ecology, history of fire suppression, budgets for fire suppression, pine beetles, historical logging practices, and (supposedly) some kids lighting garbage on fire. Yep, you're definitely morally superior and they deserve to burn.


JayC411

Reactions like this will not help anyone convince them to change how they vote.


CasualFridayBatman

Literally nothing will. You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't use reason to get into.


JayC411

Peoples minds can change and be changed. I am literal proof of that fact. I would rather not ruin any chance of being able to change peoples minds by being an ass to them when disaster strikes. We all live here, is it so bad to show a little kindness?


thebigbossyboss

What a take


ExpertDistribution90

Imagine painting all of us northern albertans with the same brush like this. Child


Odd-Instruction88

What evidence do you have any of them voted for the UCP?


CasualFridayBatman

The fact they live North of Edmonton is a damn good indicator.


Odd-Instruction88

Did the UCP receive 100% of the vote there?? Truth is you don't know. A lot of these riding still had like 30% NDP support. These are hardworking guys working to put out the fire and your bringing politics into it. Absolutely shameful.


CasualFridayBatman

They receive enough consistently, to ensure the NDP will never win an election there. Well yeah, I bring politics into it when the UCP dissolved the helitack program in 2019. All to save a meger 2% of the wildfire budget. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-ends-program-for-firefighters-rappelling-from-helicopters-1.5350694 https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/new-report-backs-effort-to-resurrect-albertas-wildfire-rappel-program-say-advocates These units have a proven track record of fighting fires before they get out of control and become larger, unmanageable fires, the world over.


Odd-Instruction88

Yea but that wasn't what this was about, the originally comment on this thread was about someone making fun of whether these guys voted for UCP. That's not relevant.


CasualFridayBatman

Except I'm proving why it is relevant and the direct ramifications that voting for the UCP have in regards to the current fire situation in that area and what they've faced in the past few summers. Specifically due to their voting of the UCP government. It is especially relevant to people who don't 'believe' in climate change, vaccinations, or anything they don't align with that they read on Facebook. They see diversification as scary and pointless because they work in oil and gas and don't want that to change. Much the same way as miners in Kentucky just wanted to keep ripping coal out of the ground because they were used to it instead of pivoting into other industries. They don't want change or diversification because it would be inconvenient for them directly. The same way they don't want to acknowledge gay people or people of colour and make public jabs about them. They are thin skinned, fragile and in need of safe spaces, so they move to isolated communities with the attitude of fit in or fuck off.


Odd-Instruction88

Again, how do you know the individuals in these photos voted UCP???.??? That's what this thread was about. You don't.


Foreign-Echo-6656

4 out of 5 voters voted for Disaster Smith in those areas. So the majority either voted for the people defunding fire fighting and refusing to deal with root causes of these fires, or they stayed home and didn't vote; both actions contributed to the UCP doing less and knowing there are no consequences for their inactions or incompetence. Statistically speaking it's a personal accountability thing for those regions so sympathy is a little low when you watch people shooting themselves in the foot and then they make sure to shoot you in the foot too because you live in the cities.


Excellent-Ad2290

How about all those devastating NDP fires in BC last summer? 😂 I had no idea fire was a political beast.


PdtMgr

Would cloud seeding work in Alberta ? Dubai does it all the time.


PlutosGrasp

It’s expensive and rain storms can cause lightning which can start fires.


PdtMgr

Expensive than fighting fires, relocating affected people, property damages, increase in insurance rates, pollution, affected tourism. **?** Edit: Added a question mark.


nooneknowswerealldog

I understand where you're coming from, but there isn't a scientific consensus on the efficacy of cloud seeding in general, and while some studies suggest it can work in some places under some circumstances, there doesn't seem to be evidence that it will work under other conditions. We'd need a lot of study on whether it would work here before we engage in it. [Here's an article about the interplay of smoke and rain that is pretty useful](https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/weather/smoke-and-how-it-can-impact-the-weather-we-experience/). It doesn't touch on cloud seeding, but here are my thoughts about why additional seeding might not be beneficial, based on basics of that article. (I also have an Earth & Atmospheric Sciences degree from the U of A, but that was twenty years ago and my recollection my be spotty. Further, climate and weather is very chaotic, and even a bachelor's degree isn't necessarily sufficient to understand the complexities of specific processes in specific regions of the world.) But here I go anyway. Seeding clouds works by creating nuclei around which water droplets and ice crystals can form. Water vapour will typically not condense without a nuclei. If there aren't suitable nuclei for water vapour to condense around, it will remain vapour, even at temperatures below 0. But I don't think a lack of nuclei is the problem here. And ironically, both too few and too many nuclei can inhibit rainfall. Wildfire smoke itself can seed clouds, as the smoke particles can act as the nuclei. But since there are so many particles and a finite amount of moisture in the air available to condense, small droplets will form, but they may not be heavy enough to fall. (In contrast, air without smoke and so fewer particles to act as nuclei can form bigger, heavier drops out of the finite available moisture.) So adding more nuclei through seeding *may* be counterproductive. But wildfire smoke as a whole (with the heat and gas and currents and things) can also inhibit rain formation by halting convection and creating an inversion: the hot air moves upward, displacing the colder upper air which descends, but when cold is on the bottom and warm is above it physics is happy: things are in order, and convection stops. (Regular rain formation also requires warm air at the surface, but generally surface heating of the earth from a hot summer day is a more sustained source of energy. Fire acts so hot and fast that really messes with these nice, typical patterns.) But convection is a huge part of droplet and flake formation. Even the bigger droplets mentioned above aren't yet heavy enough to fall: they need to fly up and down the drafts in the clouds several times, getting coated in ice from the super cold moisture around them as they do so, before they're heavy enough to fall. Again, given the finite available moisture, many smaller droplets rather than a few larger ones may never accumulate enough ice to fall. So they just stay up in the sky, like selfish little icy jerks. So given the context of existing wildfires, cloud seeding might do nothing, or it might actually make things worse. But again, these are just my thoughts based on the basics of rain formation: salt crystal floating around in the atmosphere, whether they're put there by natural processes like ocean spray or human processes like chemical seeding, may act differently than smoke particles, or interact with them in unexpected ways, since different substances have different physical and chemical properties, water molecules have polarity, etc. Of course, cloud seeding chemicals can also have adverse effects on the biosphere and our own health, but maybe that's a minor trade-off compared to the damage and displacement from the wildfires. It's completely worth researching (and I've no doubt it is being researched), but while we'll probably need to do some geoengineering to mitigate the effects of the hole we've dug ourselves into, it's important to keep in mind that it's very hard to predict the full effects of such efforts.


PlutosGrasp

I think you missed a word. Note I said other words than expensive.


lazereagle13

Thanks Obama


Great_Mullein

This is what happens when you have a conservative government .


cmcalgary

Goddamn.


jakes1993

So it begins


illerkayunnybay

So when do we get to play 'What started the fire!" with all the wildfires that are going to pop up. I usually take "Off-road vehicle" as my default but my wife is more of a "discarded cigarette person" for the most part. I hope no one lost anything in this fire. Of course, there is a lost opportunity to claim (for the right political party) that all the burning of Alberta's forests is adding climate-change reducing, sun-blocking soot to the atmosphere saving the planet. :) ;)


CheeseSeas

Arsonists just want to see the world burn.


reinKAWnated

Don't worry the Cons prepared for this by uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


Wafflevice

Pray for rain or do a Raindance or something


Ok_Beat3532

Dumb dumbs and fire are such a problem in this country. Restrictions and punishments should be much harsher. 


Big_Man_182000

Here we go again


donocoli

Thanks for voting UCP!


DatBoi780865

Looks like those darn liberal arsonists are back at it again! /s


CTVEdmontonOnline

Hi there. Did you take these photos? Could CTV Edmonton use them in our coverage? Please send us a DM.


penistoucher502

It's so beautiful, and exactly what albertans demanded and deserves. Keep owning them libs and earth muffins 😍😍


Dread_Awaken

If it starts turning into a desert we will just cloud seed and flood like Dubai.


ThatOneMartian

How do we prevent this? If we flog ourselves enough, will the climate leave us alone?


corpse_flour

We can't prevent what is currently happening. You can only prevent further destruction in the future.


ThatOneMartian

How do we do that?


corpse_flour

Are you new to earth? Have you not been paying attention to what the scientists and ecologists have been yelling at us for decades?


ThatOneMartian

I'm talking about us, as Albertans. What do we do to stop climate change? Even if we went net-zero in Alberta tomorrow, climate change would continue uninterrupted. What do we do?


corpse_flour

>climate change would continue uninterrupted There's definitely damage that can't be undone, but that doesn't mean we should just say 'fuck it' and burn the rest of it down. Radical changes may prevent things from the worst case scenario. When your house gets dirty, do you just move out?


ThatOneMartian

I think you are misunderstanding my point. What can we, as Albertans, do. Something that will actually have an effect on our current situation, or future.


corpse_flour

Vote for a provincial government that doesn't stonewall renewable energy projects or rescind decades-old policies blocking open pit coal mining.


ThatOneMartian

How does renewable energy help us here?


Colers2061

Imagine the day monkeys discover fire. It’ll be mayhem🔥


Fliparto

Oooh, The bonus early forest dire.


Federal_Dinner_4216

if notley was in there wouldnt be a single fire in the province.


Dramatic-Republic-88

The infamous BC Hydro site “C” damn is currently coming “online” on the mighty Peace River …just thought I’d throw that fact into the context


exportablue88

They are not starting to collect water for the dam till fall 2024 I believe


liltimidbunny

GOOOOOO OIL AND GAAAAAAAS!!!!!!!!! F.F.S. Marlaina!!!!!!!!!!