Corrosive or Cohesive: Social Realities of Wildfires in Rural Alberta

• In Event: Environmental Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 15: Disaster, Risk, and Recovery

Abstract

Wildfires have increasingly become a threat in Canada due to climate change and a perfect storm of dry conditions, low precipitation levels, and human interaction with wildland spaces. This paper draws on interviews conducted with individuals living in Northwestern Alberta who have experienced wildfires from 2020 to 2026. Interviews were conducted with civilians who were exposed to wildfire risk, as well as people working in the forestry, government, and wildfire response sectors. Themes of clashes between operational responses to fires, difficulties in evacuation, and the long-standing impacts of colonialism on the environment are present throughout the interviews among Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants. This paper questions how Alberta can move forward in preparing for and responding to wildfire threats, and the impact that it has on the diverse rural communities facing this hazard.

Author

• Sydney Dyck, University of Delaware