In 2023, more than 17.3 million hectares of land had burned in Canada because of forest fires. This was the largest annual land loss due to wildfires since records started. The number of forest fires in Canada stood at around 5,475 in 2023. The cost of Canadian wildfires In Canada, estimated property losses due to forest fires from 1970 to 2020 amounted to almost 250 million Canadian dollars. The province of British Columbia was by far the most affected, with losses of 115.4 million Canadian dollars, followed by Ontario with 57.9 million Canadian dollars.On the human side, the largest evacuation caused by wildfires in the North American country from 1980 to 2019 occurred in 2016, when more than 92,000 people were displaced. The Fort McMurray wildfire – the costliest natural catastrophe in Canadian history – took place that year. A worldwide picture Wildfires have been wreaking havoc around the world in recent years. In 2022 alone, around 5.2 million hectares of tree cover were lost due to wildfires. A year earlier, wildfire tree cover loss reached the peak of the century so far, with more than seven million hectares. In the past century, Russia has seen the largest annual tree cover loss due to wildfires, with an average of 2.5 million hectares. Canada is the second most impacted country in the world, with an average annual loss of roughly 1.3 million hectares during the same period.

description: This plan considers fire on Erie as a tool for management and as a potential problem to be dealt with. This document discusses environmental impacts and alternatives covering implementation of fire management on the Refuge. The use of prescribed burning for manipulating vegetation to benefit wildlife and to maintain desirable plant communities is also presented. Burn unit charts and miscellaneous management forms are included. Proposal Description: Fire management at Erie National Wildlife Refuge, during the next four years, will be primarily concerned with the organization and maintenance of an efficient wildfire prevention and suppression program. However, there may be a limited amount of prescribed burning and some brush pile burning carried out on the refuge. This will be done in conjunction with an old-field renovation program that is currently being undertaken on the refuge. Hundreds of acres of cropland and pasture land have reverted to brush since being acquired by the refuge. Many of these fields are located in potentially prime waterfowl nesting and feeding areas. Because of this fact, current plans call for these old fields to be reclaimed through brush clearing. This management action is in direct support of primary refuge objectives which are to provide ducks and Canada geese with production habitat, feeding and resting migrational habitat and protection during the hunting season.; abstract: This plan considers fire on Erie as a tool for management and as a potential problem to be dealt with. This document discusses environmental impacts and alternatives covering implementation of fire management on the Refuge. The use of prescribed burning for manipulating vegetation to benefit wildlife and to maintain desirable plant communities is also presented. Burn unit charts and miscellaneous management forms are included. Proposal Description: Fire management at Erie National Wildlife Refuge, during the next four years, will be primarily concerned with the organization and maintenance of an efficient wildfire prevention and suppression program. However, there may be a limited amount of prescribed burning and some brush pile burning carried out on the refuge. This will be done in conjunction with an old-field renovation program that is currently being undertaken on the refuge. Hundreds of acres of cropland and pasture land have reverted to brush since being acquired by the refuge. Many of these fields are located in potentially prime waterfowl nesting and feeding areas. Because of this fact, current plans call for these old fields to be reclaimed through brush clearing. This management action is in direct support of primary refuge objectives which are to provide ducks and Canada geese with production habitat, feeding and resting migrational habitat and protection during the hunting season.