We have had a warmer than expected winter to date. It has also brought less snow than one might expect, and I hope that I am not jinxing our spring. My side yard now has a skating rink thanks to the rainfall of Sunday afternoon and evening. The sidewalks are sheets of ice. This scarcity of snow has people wondering what the impact of this weather will become of the summer months.
Ten days ago, I drove to and from Atikokan and was surprised by the lack of snow in the bush. Snowmobile trails have become impassable because there has not been enough snowpack. There already exists in the district some anxiety over the lack of moisture sitting on the ground and its impact on summer crops.
We are not alone in our worries. Beginning last November before the fire season was over, the governments of British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories were already planning for the 2024 fire season. Across those two provinces and territories, “Zombie” fires are shooting puffs of smoke into the air burning through peat and organic vegetation and announcing that come warmer weather they will burst into flame and again be marching across forests and grasslands. It is a result of drought conditions that have penetrated to dry out materials in Canada’s boreal forests and now with El Nino are creating potential new disasters.
Residents of communities in northern Alberta, and the Northwest Territories have already been told to have emergency bags packed and be ready to evacuate. It is indicative of the drought that is being experienced in much of the world. Nightly we are seeing in the news the grass fire of Texas and Australia. Whole communities have been wiped out just as we saw Fort McMurray in Alberta demolished by fire.
Locally our lower-than-expected snowfalls through December, January, and February put the district in drought conditions and the lakes potentially below normal water levels.
Locally we may expect 3.1 cm of moisture this month growing to 4.8 cm of moisture in April and peaking to 10.8 cm in June. June, July and August provide the greatest amounts of moisture in the district. Out past fall was dryer than expected. We received less than 50 mm of moisture.
Spring will be arriving. Hopefully moisture will be restored to the soil. In the previous century two massive fires destroyed lives and homesteads in the district. We must also be vigilant in protecting the district from the horrendous fires we have been seeing over the past two years.