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The horrific pictures showing the inferno are very frightening.HERE

I am astounded with the scale of the fire and just cannot understand why there is nothing that can halt the spread. I was thinking heavy plant to fell trees to make a fire break or even explosives.

Explosives will need to be used - news mentioned explosives.

This is a horrible fire.

Patsy

The fact that there is only one road out of the area and it is the center of the tar sands operations greatly complicate matters. It could be a lot worse. There are 49 wildfires burning at the same time in Alberta.

I'm no expert but I think it's the sheer speed at which it moves that makes it hard to get far enough ahead to be able to clear a big enough area

How big would a fire break need to be? How far can burning embers be carried by the wind?

Just heard on the news (Saturday, 12 noon), that the fire is expected to be twice as widespread within the next 24 hours.

FourPart;1495544 wrote: How big would a fire break need to be? How far can burning embers be carried by the wind?


They have been carried several miles. there is no way to build a firebreak that could contain this thing. Part of the problem is that the winds have been shifting every direction. It is very active weather patterns, with no rain in the forecasts.

The fire is bad enuf as it is destroying an ecosystem but it is a nightmare to those who are losing their homes and lives. I can't hear the plants and trees screaming, nor all the wildlife trying to escape this inferno...have you thought about that? Everyone loses in this battle.

Gives you more respect for the power of nature.

They seem to be gaining some control over the thing, finally.

LarsMac;1495600 wrote: They seem to be gaining some control over the thing, finally.


Mainly due to a change in the weather I think.

1. Get used to this. As global warming continues, this will be considered a small blaze.

2. Wildfires are a part of nature. Without them, the young trees have no chance. Many evergreens, in fact, rely on wildfires' heat to open their seed cones.

Forest fires such as this are frequently required for the propogation of plants, such as the Jack Pine, for instance...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_pine