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Wildfire evacuations in Canada 1980–2007

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  • Jennifer Beverly
  • Peter Bothwell

Abstract

Evacuations represent an integral aspect of protecting public safety in locations where intense, fast-spreading forest fires co-occur with human populations. Most Canadian fire management agencies have as their primary objective the protection of people and property, and all fire management agencies in Canada recommend evacuations when public safety is in question. This study provides the first national assessment of wildfire-related evacuations in Canada and documents the loss of homes that coincided with evacuation events. The most striking finding is that despite the intensity and abundance of wildfire in Canada, wildfires have displaced a relatively small number of people. Between 1980 and 2007, the median number of evacuees and home losses per year in Canada were 3,590 and 2, respectively. Evacuees’ homes survived in 99.3% of cases. Patterns of evacuations and home losses reflected the distributions of forests, wildfire, and people across the Canadian landscape. Most evacuations occurred in boreal areas, which have relatively low population densities but among the highest percent annual area burned in Canada. Evacuations were less common in southern parts of the country, where most Canadians reside, but individual wildfires in these areas had significant impacts. Interactions between wildfire and people in Canada exhibited a unique regional pattern, and within the most densely populated regions of the country they can be considered ‘low-probability, high-consequence’ events. This Canadian context is fundamentally different from places such as California, where concentrations of fires and people overlap across large areas and therefore calls for a fundamentally different fire management response. Copyright Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada 2011

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Beverly & Peter Bothwell, 2011. "Wildfire evacuations in Canada 1980–2007," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 59(1), pages 571-596, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:59:y:2011:i:1:p:571-596
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-011-9777-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brian Mills & Dan Unrau & Carla Parkinson & Brenda Jones & Jennifer Yessis & Kelsey Spring & Laurel Pentelow, 2008. "Assessment of lightning-related fatality and injury risk in Canada," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 47(2), pages 157-183, November.
    2. Vilella-Vila, Marta & Costa-Font, Joan, 2008. "Press media reporting effects on risk perceptions and attitudes towards genetically modified (GM) food," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 2095-2106, October.
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    1. Bahmani, Homa & Ao, Yibin & Li, Mingyang & Yang, Dujuan & Wang, Dongpo, 2023. "Dual disasters: Seismic evacuation decision-making during COVID-19 lockdown: A case study of Luding earthquake, Sichuan Province," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).

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