‘Crushing consequences’: experts see growing risk as wildfires crash into communities

An interface fire crashed into suburban Halifax on Sunday, destroying or damaging dozens of homes in the west of the city. The Nova Scotia blaze follows early season wildfires that have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate from their homes in Alberta. Sandy Erni, a research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service focusing on fire risk, said interface fires can involve either residential neighbourhoods or industrial infrastructure. Erni is the co-author of a 2021 study that used greenhouse-gas emissions scenarios established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to model potential increases in wildland-human interface fires by the end of this century. Erni said the Canadian government has undertaken a national wildfire risk assessment, with mapping set to be publicly released next year.