Quote:
Originally Posted by O-tacular
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The only real consequence here in Southern Ontario is the sky & sun have a different colour.
My grandmother-in-law, who is Anishinaabe, told me an interesting story the other day - the Anishinaabe noticed that every once in a blue moon the sun would change colour because of wildfire smoke in Western North America, but didn't know that was the cause, so they have mythology about it being the result of angry spirits.
Eastern North America is never really going to have to deal with fires the way the Western half of the continent does. The forests in the East are mostly hardwoods like oak, maple, beech, etc. as opposed to the pines & firs of the West (hardwood trees are harder to ignite and they burn much more slowly when they do), and the weather is much more humid so it's wetter. Sporadic fires can happen (and probably will increase in frequency) but it's never going to be a huge public safety threat. The exception could be further north, in Northern Ontario, Northern Quebec, Labrador, etc. where the forests are mostly softwood. Even then, the more humid conditions will keep a lid on fires.
Western North America is just uniquely primed to burn. Dry climate and softwood trees. Fires are a natural part of the ecosystem - the provincial tree of Alberta, the Lodgepole pine, actually requires fire to reproduce as the seeds of the tree only germinate when ignited.
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