?A tipping point?: how poor forestry fuels floods and fires in western Canada

A devastating string of floods and landslides have shocked residents in British Columbia, a west Canadian province increasingly forced to grapple with the effects of the climate crisis. As images of the devastation circulate on social media, experts warn that management of the province’s forests will be critical to blunting the effects of future storms.

On Tuesday, more residents were forced to flee their homes amid intermittent landslides and rising water levels. Videos from aerial flyovers showed parts of Abbotsford inundated with flood waters. Further north, a section of the Coquihalla highway, one of the province’s main road systems, appeared to have been severed. Officials say it could be months before the highway can safely reopen.

Officials said it could be months before one of the province’s busiest highways reopens, after sections were destroyed. Rescue teams also began the search for people whose cars may have been buried after a series of mudslides trapped vehicles travelling east of Vancouver.

Experts have long cautioned that clearcut logging affects slope stability, the rate at which water is absorbed into the ground and the ability to hold soil in root systems. Without trees, heavy rains can wash large amounts of sediment into nearby water systems, choking creeks and streams and causing them to quickly overflow.

At the same time, British Columbia has suffered some of its worst wildfire seasons in recent years. As the aftermath of the storm became clear, a number of the areas worst hit were also near blazes that tore through the province earlier in the summer.

The problem for the province isn’t just that fires are getting larger - they’re also getting more severe and are burning at higher temperatures.

Martin says forest ecologists have long recommended controlled burns as well as selective logging to thin the forests, allowing larger mature trees to thrive and improving protection against wildfires.

While forest fires have long been seen as a summer event, the recent flooding has highlighted how interconnected the issues are.