Animals well adapted to survive wildfires, says Alberta wildlife expert
As wet, cool weather provided some relief to crews battling a wildfire in southwestern Alberta, a wildlife official said animals in and around Waterton Lakes National Park are welladapted to survive the flames.
Parks Canada said Thursday that about six millimetres of rain fell over the Kenow fire overnight and it has not grown beyond an estimated 360 square kilometres.
But the agency cautioned the situation remains serious and it may once again become intense despite the rain. Some 500 people have been subject to evacuation orders in the area.
Matt Besko, who is director of wildlife policy at Alberta Environment and Parks, said wildlife left in the park have evolved to be able to deal with natural wildfires.
Some individual critters may become trapped and die.
“But for the most part, species are fairly mobile,” he said. “Larger mammals will run, birds will fly.”
Birds probably fared well because the fire did not sweep through during nesting season and the young would have fledged by now. Amphibians may have been able to protect themselves by burrowing under the dirt.
Some species such as squirrels and porcupines are more vulnerable because they can’t run as fast.
The fire will transform the landscape in a way that will be beneficial to many animals in the long term, Besko said.
Some will have fresh leaves to munch on before too long.
“Many of our ungulates like deer, moose, elk, respond very favourably to recent fire activities because it does promote nutrient cycling as well as a flourish of new growth,” he said.
Some animals, such as woodland caribou — a species that lives further north in Alberta — need large tracts of uninterrupted old-growth habitat, so fires are a negative.
But Besko said it’s rare that a naturally occurring fire would root out any particular species from an area.
The Kenow fire spread across the B.C.-Alberta boundary into Waterton late last week and the townsite was evacuated.
Oil and gas companies operating nearby have been taking precautions.
The Alberta Energy Regulator said as of Wednesday, Questfire Energy had shut down 10 natural gas wells, but the facility was not in danger.
It added that Shell Canada has shut in 24 wells and associated pipelines and has plans in place in the event it needs to shut its Waterton sour gas plant southwest of Pincher Creek.