Kelowna Catastrophe: Climate Change or Preventable Disaster?

As of Aug. 20, 2023, large parts of Kelowna in south central British Columbia (B.C.) have been decimated by a wildfire, driven by extremely high winds and dry weather conditions. A state of emergency has been declared across the province of B.C. as there are numerous wildfires out of control. All this is happening during the high season for vacationers who flock to Kelowna and other regions of BC for summer fun - camping, hiking, boating, and enjoying the many excellent restaurants, tourist attractions and wineries. Sadly, high profile people like Mark Carney, Catherine McKenna, and even children’s entertainer Raffi Couvakian are claiming the fires are the fault of ’climate change.’ This despite the fact that even the UN does NOT ascribe wildfires to human-caused climate change. It’s all about fuel load and human activities. In this explainer, Michelle Stirling, Communications Manager for Friends of Science, reviews wildfire facts and stats and recommendations from one of the regional wildfire prevention plans, specific to Kelowna. Sadly, lots of studies were written, it is unclear what recommendations were implemented - the outcome is catastrophic. However, similar fires occurred in 2003 and 2009. Do we not learn from history? The real ascribing these catastrophic wildfire events to ’climate change’ is that precious and limited public funds will be squandered on green crony climate projects while the very PRACTICAL and doable wildfire prevention plans will be ignored. The federal Liberal government has slated billions of dollars for Agenda 2030 climate projects - even a few hundred million, appropriately applied to wildfire fighting equipment and services would make a big difference for mitigating wildfire damage; if cities took such natural disasters more seriously than they do their special projects like “Smart Cities“ - then citizens, their properties and businesses would be much safer from harm. Come to our Oct. 17, 2023 live event in Calgary at the Red and White Club at McMahon Stadium. “Break Free from Climate Tyranny: Evidence Over Ideology“ - get your tickets now: INFO Ticketing direct: