PhysicalEnvironmentEconomicPoliticsSocial / Cultural

Physical(Historical Perspective)

Okanagan Valley formation influenced by:Tectonic Plate DivergenceGlacial Erosion and Deposition

Kelowna, Okanagan Valley

Hot Spots on the shores of Okanagan Lake

Physical(Contemporary Perspective)

Natural Vegetation – mixture of grasslands and coniferous forests on the slopes of the valleyClimate – Kelowna (Elevation: 372 m 49N 119W)

•Annual precipitation: 366.4 mm•Why is Kelowna so much drier than Vancouver?•Avg. daily maximum in July and August: 27 to 28 deg. C

A view of the Okanagan Mountain Park fire from Summerland

Physical cont.(Okanagan Mountain Park Fire Specifics)

Started Saturday August 16, 2003 by lightningApproximately 20 000 hectares or 200 sq. km in size by late August

Okanagan Mountain Park Fire (18 hours old)

Aided by record low precipitation in July and August (eg Kelowna - 0.8 mm in August in comparison to the normal of 33.9 mm)Aided by a build up of “fuel” on the forest floor (i.e. small trees and underbrush which act as ladders for fires to reach to the tops of older and taller trees)On Friday August 24, aided by 70 km / h winds which helped to move the fire as fast as 100 metres per minute

Friday Night Firestorm

Convection When a fire starts, it heats air molecules around it and causes them to rise leaving lower air pressure near the surface. This lower air pressure acts like a vacuum to draw in air from around the fire. The oxygen in the air causes the fire to grow even further. A ferocious forest fire can reach temperatures as high as 800 degrees Celsius.

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EnvironmentConsiderable alteration of the natural ecosystem; forests will need time to regenerate and rejuvenate; areas will revert to natural grasslands

Disruption of wildlife

Air Quality and Visibility concerns

Hazy sunshine through the smoke Threatened Wildlife

Forest fire ash on the back of a car in downtown Kelowna

Economic

Economic Loss of over 240 homes; insurance costs go up

Federal disaster fund assistance to the Kelowna community

The cost of fighting forest fires to the provincial government: $4 million to $7 million per day depending upon the situation; close to $400 million for the Summer of 2003 (province-wide) where “interface” fires have been unusually common.As of August 23, there have been 2162 fires reported in BC and 170 000 hectares of forest burned. Note: $55 million had been budgeted to fight forest fires this year. Decline in tourism eg winery tours and lake recreation

Concern over price gouging i.e. rent hikes

Disruption to the forest industry

Reconstruction jobs

PoliticalQuestions:

Should the Okanagan Mountain Park Forest have been managed differently to prevent such a large fire (i.e. controlled burns to reduce the “fuel” on the ground)?

Note: The provincial government is planning to return to a policy of controlled burns later this fall or early spring. Over the past ten to fifteen years prescribed burning was frowned upon due in part to public dislike for smoke.

Will there be lawsuits by fire victims against the provincial government stemming from allegations of mismanagement of the forest?

Will there be an investigation into whether or not more could have been done to prevent the fire from spreading in the first place?

Political cont.

Will federal disaster relief assistance come in a timely fashion?

How will the provincial government pay for the cost overruns in fighting forest fires this year?

Social / CulturalThe evacuation of over 26 000 people on Thursday August 21 and Friday August 22 from the Kelowna area is “believed to be the largest evacuation in the shortest period of time in Canada’s history” (Vancouver Sun Monday August 25, 2003 p A2 by Matthew Ramsey, Lori Culbert, and Amy O’Brian).

Community grieves but also unites to help one another

Fire fighters are praised and the Kelowna Fire Chief Gerry Zimmermann is compared to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

“Fire tourists” are warned to stay away from ravaged areas