Slave Lake Fires (Update 3): The Ghost Town

The Grass in Slave Lake Has Turned Black

Wildfires consumed 2,000 hectares of Slave Lake destroying or damaging 1,000 buildings

“[Many hundreds of] homes or businesses have been destroyed by fire,” said mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee. “There are hundreds more on top of that damaged.”

The city is a site of utter destruction with everything burned down, melted, turned into rubble and ash. The city looks like a miniature version of Hiroshima after the atom bomb was dropped on her.

“This is a first time experience for us,” the mayor said. “We had multiple fires on either end of the community. What I’m thankful for at this point is we have no loss of life.”

Neither the Hiroshima residents, nor the uranium miners and the coolies, had any chance, however.

Port Radium, Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada.

Some 50 percent of the homes in the SE section of the city have been destroyed, Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee was quoted as saying. Many building were also lost in other parts, especially in the NW quadrant.

“When you turn the corner and whole subdivisions are gone—you don’t even recognize your community anymore, and that startled me,” the mayor said.

“I don’t know when in history we’ve evacuated at least 7,000 people in such a short period of time,” said Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach.

“We’ve had large grass fires, we’ve had forest fires, but not so many homes lost.”

Related Links

• Slave Lake Fires (Update 2): 40% of the City Destroyed

• Slave Lake on Fire
• Large parts of Alaskan (and Canadian) forests could be consumed by wildfires: FEWW forecast
• Wildfires Wreaking Havoc Across the U.S.
• US Wildfires: 50-percent more fires than the 10 year average

• U-S Attacked by Continued Severe Weather
• Climate Forcing: Positive Feedback Mega Loop
• Global Climate Extremes INTENSIFYING

• 2011 Disaster Calendar – MAY
• 2011-2012 MegaDisasters
• Earth: Wounded and Feverish

• FEWW DISASTER FORECAST 2011
• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• Megadisasters Loom
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

THE WORLD WILL NOT END in 2012

PROBABILITY of WORLD ENDING in 2012 ≤ 1 in 4,000,000,000

IMPORTANT: Neither FIRE-EARTH nor EDRO MODELS SHOW the WORLD ENDING in 2012, but that the FIRST PHASE of CIVIC COLLAPSE WILL HAVE OCCURRED.

Blog assessments are based on dynamic model simulations analyzing the environmental impact of excessive energy consumption. Moderators reject ALL END-WORLD PROPHECIES.

Anthropogenic harm to the planet reached breaking point in the late 1970s, when the energy consumption rate exceeded 9.51 terawatts (9.51E+12 joules/second). By 1980 the consumption of energy had jumped to 3.12E+20 joules, or 9.89 terawatts.

Pacific Ocean Basin After Japan Quake

Pacific Ocean Basin After Japan Quake. An infrared image taken by the GOES-11 satellite shows the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011 at 12:00 UTC. Source: NOAA/NASA GOES Project.

Humans continue to devour energy at a rate of 17.3terrawatt in 2011, when maximum ‘safe’ limit, we believe, is less than 1.9terrawatt.

Whereas the hypothetical impact of a collision with a sci-fi planet would result in sudden death, the impact of excessive human activity is causing sustained damage over a much longer period.

The adverse effects we have been witnessing for 4 decades are clearly caused by human activity, NOT by an imaginary planet.

WE BELIEVE the world will still be here in 2012, 2013, 2014 and beyond. However, in three years from now, it would be a far less habitable planet than it was even three years ago.

The planet is trying to stay alive!

[Note: CASF, EDRO and FIRE-EARTH Models have accurately and consistently forecast “planetary events” since at least 2004. To the best of our knowledge no other model has come remotely close to FIRE-EARTH forecasts.]  

Related Links

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) March 2008
• 2010: The Year of Disasters
• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion
• 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links
• Earth: Wounded and Feverish

Links to Disaster Calendars:

• 2010 Disaster Calendar
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

2008 second worst year for disaster losses

Disaster losses in 2008 are about $160 billion, so far, insurers Munich Re Foundation say

Only 2005 saw a bigger financial toll of $220 billion, with a large contribution from hurricane Katrina.

China’s Sichuan quake which struck in May, was the costliest disaster in 2008 so far. However, it should be noted that outside the U.S. and EU,  natural disaster losses are far less likely to be covered by insurance.

According to a joint study by Munich Re and the U.N. Environment Program, weather-related disasters caused by global warming are rising.

“Since the 1980s… weather-related hazards such as major floods have increased by as much as 350 percent and those from wind storms have doubled,” the report said.

Meanwhile, the Colorado State University hurricane research team said 2009 would be another “above-average” hurricane season like 2008. They forecast 14 tropical storms in the 2009, including seven that would develop into hurricanes, with three being dangerous Category 3 or above on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

FEWW Tropical Storm Forecast will be release early 2009. Stay tuned!

Related News Links:

• 2008 one of worst years for disaster losses: insurer
• Forecasters see active 2009 hurricane season

Related Links:

• Index of Human Impact on Nature
• Early “Dividends” of Climate Change
• 500 Weather-Related Disasters A Year [and counting]
• Food Crisis
• Failing Ecosystems