"Wildfire Insights"
"Wildfire Insights" is a series of articles about wildfires which were originally published in the Chronicle Journal in 2024. Learn about how to protect your health and your home, local emergency response and the connections to climate change. The idea for this wildfire series came from Dr. Margaret Woods and Graham Saunders, participants in the Northwest Climate Gatherings.
Fires, Smoke lead to Critical Health Issues by Graham Saunders, climatologist and president of Environment North (originally published on July 20, 2024). "The 2023 wildfire season was, by far, the worst on record for area burned in Canada. The smoke resulted in the worst air quality readings for most of Canada and the northern United States since records began in 1980. ..."
Handy link: Canada Wildland Fire Information System
Wildfire smoke affects health by Margaret Woods, retired family physician, member of the Thunder Bay Climate Transition Collaborative and Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) was originally published on July 27, 2024. "As a family physician, I am acutely aware of the dangers of wildfire smoke and the growing public health concerns of climate hange. The World Health Organization declared climate change "the greatest threat to gloabal health" and NOrther Ontario is no exception. ..."
Handy links:
Environment Canada: Thunder Bay Air Quality Health Index
Environment Canada: Guide to Air Quality Health Index
Climate Change and Health in Northern Ontario (2022)
Northerners should be prepared for wildfire threat by Dave Paxton, Fire Chief of Thunder Bay Fire Rescue (originally published on August 3, 2024). "Wildfires are a fact of life in Northern Onatrio. Surrounded by the boreal forest, we are never far from the wildland urban interface, the area where forest meets human settlement and wildfires present the greatest risk. ..."
Handy link: FireSmartCanada.ca
Wildfires, climate change and activism by Paul Berger, a founder of CUSP - Citizens United for a Sustainable Planet and an associate professor at Lakehead University was originally published in September, 2024
The human price of climate change by Brian Walmark, a lifelong resident of Thunder Bay and a past president of Port Arthur Rotary and Nanbijou Toastmasters (originally published in September, 2024).
Wildfire smoke worsens health by respirologist Dr. Birubi Biman and general surgeon Dr. Harshad Telang, both at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre was originally published on October 1, 2024.