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Exploding device at gender reveal party leads to wildfire in northern Alberta

June 10, 2021 The Canadian Press

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – A $600 fine has been issued after a gender reveal party led to a wildfire in Alberta. Travis Fairweather, a wildfire information officer, says the party was taking place about 10 kilometres west of Fort McMurray

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Wildfire service outlook points to rising fire risk for southern B.C.

June 8, 2021 The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER – Rainfall in the next three weeks is crucial if British Columbia hopes to avoid a devastating wildfire season, but the latest outlook from the BC Wildfire Service offers little optimism. The service says rainfall and temperatures were near

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B.C. deploys crews to Manitoba to assist with several aggressive wildfires

May 27, 2021 The Canadian Press

VICTORIA – A crew of firefighters is heading to Manitoba to help with wildfires in that province. B.C.’s Forests Minister Katrine Conroy says 41 firefighters and two support staff were deployed on Wednesday. A statement from Conroy’s office says the

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Saskatchewan wildfire grows, forcing evacuations to expand

May 18, 2021 The Canadian Press

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Dry conditions and strong winds caused a large wildfire to grow Tuesday near Saskatchewan’s third-largest city even as firefighters fought the flames. “The fire continues to rage,” said Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne. The city of

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Why wildfire is moving into ‘peak peril’ range

May 14, 2021 by Jason Contant

Wildfire is now moving into the range of a “peak peril” type of risk, similar to earthquakes and hurricanes, Risk Management Solutions, Inc. (RMS) told Canadian Underwriter recently. Overall, in both Canada and the United States, wildfire risks are starting

A giant fireball is seen as a wild fire rips through the forest 16 km south of Fort McMurray, Alberta on highway 63 on May 7, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
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Canada’s worst-case wildfire scenario could see a $20-billion loss: RMS

May 13, 2021 by Jason Contant

Canada could potentially see $20-billion loss events from wildfire alone, according to recent simulations by Risk Management Solutions, Inc. (RMS). The odds of that happening would be “extremely rare, on the order of a 1-in-10,000-year return period,” Michael Young, vice

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How the feds’ budget benefits the P&C industry

April 20, 2021 by Greg Meckbach

Insurers are hoping it will be easier for homeowners to borrow money to raise their structures in areas at risk of flood or to replace roofs in wildfire-prone regions as a result of the federal budget announced Monday. In her

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‘Expensive, extreme:’ Environment Canada releases annual Top 10 weather stories list

December 16, 2020 Bob Weber - THE CANADIAN PRESS

It was another year of record-breaking disasters and crazy, dangerous weather from coast to coast, says Environment Canada’s senior climatologist. A vicious hailstorm in Calgary wrote off more cars than Albertans normally buy in an entire year. Heat in Ontario

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Wildfire damage is not like a Godzilla attack. Why that matters to Cat modellers

December 7, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

A client’s structure can remain standing after a wildfire, even when other buildings in the same neighbourhood burn down, because dozens of factors affect a property’s risk, experts said Thursday during a webinar. “The interesting thing about wildfire is [that]

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Western Canadian air tanker fleet busy despite drop in wildfires

October 19, 2020 Bill Graveland - THE CANADIAN PRESS

RED DEER, Alta. – A family-run company providing air-tanker support to control menacing wildfires in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Yukon is a little less busy these days, but it has nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic. “It has

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Wildfire risk is elevated this year. Why the pandemic made it worse

August 7, 2020 by Adam Malik

The central and Pacific coast of British Columbia could see an increased risk of wildfires this year, a new report predicts. And COVID-19 restrictions could make the risk higher, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty warned in its 2020 Wildfire Report,

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Who’s getting funding for new research in wildfire prediction, responses

July 31, 2020 THE CANADIAN PRESS

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – A university located in the heart of one of British Columbia’s most volatile forest fire regions will lead new research in wildfire prediction, prevention and response. Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops was chosen for the research that