Image of Macdougall Creek Wildfire Spread (2023)
by Pierre Markuse
Because the Okanagan is highly accustomed to summer wildfires, there's a lot of... insular thinking around Climate Change (both in 2023 and in 2026) throughout my time living here.
Formally called the "MacDougall fire," "Harbinger" depicts this wildfire that occurred 3 years ago which nearly leapt Okanagan Lake into the main city centre.
It was horrible for all those who were damaged in its wake. People lost their homes, wildlife and domestic animals were wounded/killed, and the overall ecosystem was completely scalded. There were many stories that mainstream Canadian news coverage could've taken ( *cough* CBC, CTV, Global *cough* ) with journalistic integrity. Instead? They succumbed to the sensationalist, "disaster porn" of it all - only showing the wildfire eating everything it touched. They also only reported on the home insurance cost, the cost it'd take to repair, to re-invest in firefighting etc.
None of them addressed the wildfire's connection to Climate Change.
And that genuinely confuses me.
Because in 2023, there were many natural tragedies that wreaked havoc in 2023 as a consequence of Climate Change. Many integrating Canada into that conversation would be an obvious, journalistic instinct, right?
I mean, the fire decimated homes and loads of wild life within a very short period. Its ferociousness was catalyzed by a comparatively drier summer than previous ones; simultaneously, that summer was preceded by a historically warmer winter - all hallmark symptoms of Climate Change. I encountered a large proportion of individuals who DID NOT believe this fire was contingent to Climate Change, just another Okanagan summer fire; nothing to worry about.
I am unfortunately SO serious.
For example, here's an actual conversation I had with my neighbours back in 2023 about the fire.
Formally called the "MacDougall fire," "Harbinger" depicts this wildfire that occurred 3 years ago which nearly leapt Okanagan Lake into the main city centre.
It was horrible for all those who were damaged in its wake. People lost their homes, wildlife and domestic animals were wounded/killed, and the overall ecosystem was completely scalded. There were many stories that mainstream Canadian news coverage could've taken ( *cough* CBC, CTV, Global *cough* ) with journalistic integrity. Instead? They succumbed to the sensationalist, "disaster porn" of it all - only showing the wildfire eating everything it touched. They also only reported on the home insurance cost, the cost it'd take to repair, to re-invest in firefighting etc.
None of them addressed the wildfire's connection to Climate Change.
And that genuinely confuses me.
Because in 2023, there were many natural tragedies that wreaked havoc in 2023 as a consequence of Climate Change. Many integrating Canada into that conversation would be an obvious, journalistic instinct, right?
I mean, the fire decimated homes and loads of wild life within a very short period. Its ferociousness was catalyzed by a comparatively drier summer than previous ones; simultaneously, that summer was preceded by a historically warmer winter - all hallmark symptoms of Climate Change. I encountered a large proportion of individuals who DID NOT believe this fire was contingent to Climate Change, just another Okanagan summer fire; nothing to worry about.
I am unfortunately SO serious.
For example, here's an actual conversation I had with my neighbours back in 2023 about the fire.
***
Neighbour 01: Oh, don't you think people are overreacting? It's just another Okanagan summer.
Me: Well, no - ? I mean, it's ... pretty bad. I don't think we should just... ignore that?
Neighbour 02: Wait - what do you mean? It’s just mother nature doing it's thing. Same with everything else.
Me: I mean, Climate Change has really wreaked havoc on everyone this year. I just don't think we can really just say this is only.... mother nature acting up?
Both pointedly roll their eyes and crosses their arms.
Neighbour 01: Oh, this isn’t a political thing, you know.
Me: Well, no - ? I mean, it's ... pretty bad. I don't think we should just... ignore that?
Neighbour 02: Wait - what do you mean? It’s just mother nature doing it's thing. Same with everything else.
Me: I mean, Climate Change has really wreaked havoc on everyone this year. I just don't think we can really just say this is only.... mother nature acting up?
Both pointedly roll their eyes and crosses their arms.
Neighbour 01: Oh, this isn’t a political thing, you know.
Neighbour 02: Yeah, you and your woke shit - making a big deal out of everything. Feelings on a 10 foot pole. Wow.
Neighbour 01: Yeah, this isn't... this isn't Climate Change related. We get this all the time. I think you're being a little too woke.
.....
yep.
Neighbour 01: Yeah, this isn't... this isn't Climate Change related. We get this all the time. I think you're being a little too woke.
.....
yep.
Overview of 2023 Fire Season.
From Nature Communications Journal:
Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking
2023 Wildfire Season in Canada
climate change enabled sustained extreme fire weather conditions, as the mean May–October temperature over Canada in 2023 was 2.2 °C warmer than the 1991–2020 average
-
From the article
Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada
in the open access journal Nature Communications
-
From the article
Drivers and Impacts of the Record-Breaking 2023 Wildfire Season in Canada
in the open access journal Nature Communications
From United Nation's Publication:
"2023 Disasters in Numbers - A Significant Year of Disaster Impact."
"2023 Disasters in Numbers - A Significant Year of Disaster Impact."
Content connecting Canada to Climate Change does exist though - you have to actively search for it. I'm glad this material exists, but how many people are willing to do that? Why are Canadian mainstream news outlets so allergic to saying "Oh, so... those drier summers? Climate Change." They are the epiphany of "hm... maybe if we just don't talk about it, then it will go away?"
And that...greatly disturbs me.
And that...greatly disturbs me.
The purposeful lack of authoritative mainstream voices linking Climate Change to smaller scale incidents like these ABSOLUTELY contorts and, unfortunately erroneously deludes, far too many people into thinking their "small" city life is immune to reality.
Hence why I began this photo essay in 2023.
I made this photo essay without all the sensationalist, "disaster porn" sheen on purpose. By being less "viral horror" focused with these images, I hop viewers can visually internalize that Climate Change isn't just the NYC flooding, Hawaii firestorm extreme events with bombastic coverage to understand that Climate Change's effects aren't just the big bangs of sensationalist, photo news- but can also be found in the mundane whimpers of everyday.
It's a global issue.
And surprise: we all live on the same globe.
I made this photo essay without all the sensationalist, "disaster porn" sheen on purpose. By being less "viral horror" focused with these images, I hop viewers can visually internalize that Climate Change isn't just the NYC flooding, Hawaii firestorm extreme events with bombastic coverage to understand that Climate Change's effects aren't just the big bangs of sensationalist, photo news- but can also be found in the mundane whimpers of everyday.
It's a global issue.
And surprise: we all live on the same globe.
How exceptional is Canada’s 2023 fire season?
Unprecedented
Unprecedented
-
from the article
Mapping 100 years of forest fires in Canada
found in Canadian Geographic
from the article
Mapping 100 years of forest fires in Canada
found in Canadian Geographic
From Canadian Geographic:
Mapping 100 years of forest fires in Canada
