I am a bush fire survivor and so are many of my friends.
We share the nightmare of watching familiar buildings on fire and the trauma of driving through flames to safety.
Worse than the evacuation is the aftermath, the impact on the community and the loss of a sense of place.
Landscape changes, familiar features are unrecognizable and often irreplaceable records are incinerated.
It takes years to build back.
Some families choose to leave the community and never return.
Animals, birds, and reptiles are collateral damage and years later many species never recover their numbers.
For the lucky ones who have not been subject to an evacuation, there is still a risk from breathing smoke from wildfires or drinking water that may be contaminated.
Wildfire smoke contains gases and fine particulate matter that are damaging to the body.
It is worse when fires burn homes, household possessions and vehicles. That smoke is noxious.
A study by the University of Hawaii showed an increase in heart and respiratory diseases among those exposed to wildfire smoke of the Lahaina fire.
Survivors also reported depression at a rate twice that of the average population.
Climate instability is changing the places we love.
Record wildfires. Record heat. Record floods. Record melt.
More towns will suffer from unstoppable wildfires and unprecedented floods if we do not take climate action seriously.
We have seen the losses in Lytton, West 麻豆精选 and Jasper.
Even cities are not immune as we saw in the recent Pacific Palisades fires in Los Angeles.
Preparing for a future with more intensive and extensive fires and floods is not easy.
We can fire-smart and flood-proof homes, have an evacuation plan and adequate insurance but there is no guarantee that the community will rebound from a disaster.
Municipalities can help by improving infrastructure and taking action to mitigate risks.
This adds more of the burden of climate action on to society.
We pay to improve our resilience while fossil fuel companies reap record profits and continue pumping polluting carbon into our atmosphere.
Canadian atmospheric scientist, professor Katharine Hayhoe, reminds us, 鈥渨e can鈥檛 adapt our way out of this climate crisis.鈥�
Burning fossil fuels for energy may be convenient but renewable energy is now cheaper per kilowatt of energy generated and safer for the climate.
The best way forward is to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and embrace clean energy.
Electrify everything. Support the adoption of energy efficient building codes and encourage the retrofit of existing homes.
Let politicians know that climate must be a priority.
Recovery costs for climate-induced disasters can amount to billions of dollars. But the biggest cost to a community is the long-term impact on health, housing, food, water, affordability and general happiness. This cost is incalculable.
Adapting to the crisis is not the answer.
Imagine if we had begun transitioning from fossil fuels 30 years ago, we could be enjoying a safer climate with summer vacations not evacuations.
Heather Clay, Climate Action Now! North Okanagan
