Fort McMurray Fire

There is a giant fire burning in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.   That is 1000 miles NE of Seattle.  They have not had measurable rain for two months.  Fort McMurray is near the center of the Canadian tar sands petroleum mining of the Athabasca oil sands.   The Athabasca oil field is the third largest reserve on earth after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

According to the Toronto Star, this will be the largest natural disaster in Canadian history.  That might be true by cost, but it is unlikely to match the death toll of Spanish flu or Halifax explosion.  No matter what, it is a big fast burning fire projected to double in size in a day or two.  Hopefully the 40% chance of rain this weekend will pan out to retard the fire.

I believe man-made climate change is happening.  Maybe this will be the event to event to turn the corner on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.   Sooner is better than later.  This fire will certainly slow down tar sands mining for years to come.

I am grateful to be living in a place not so horribly impacted by drought and/or other calamitous weather changes.   We had more than average precipitation this year.   That is a wonderful thing compared with the horrible consequences of multi-year droughts.  Future wars will be fought over water.