Weather Awareness: On the Lookout for Wildfire in the Canadian Rocky Mountains
Mountains are crucial places in which to observe, experience, and learn about rapid weather and climate shifts, felt to varying degrees in different contexts. Fire lookout observers, immersed in the mountain environments of Alberta, Canada, for 5 to 6 months of the year, many of them returning to th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
International Mountain Society
2017-11-01
|
| Series: | Mountain Research and Development |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-00048.1 |
| _version_ | 1818477317963382784 |
|---|---|
| author | Kristen Anne Walsh Mary Sanseverino Eric Higgs |
| author_facet | Kristen Anne Walsh Mary Sanseverino Eric Higgs |
| author_sort | Kristen Anne Walsh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mountains are crucial places in which to observe, experience, and learn about rapid weather and climate shifts, felt to varying degrees in different contexts. Fire lookout observers, immersed in the mountain environments of Alberta, Canada, for 5 to 6 months of the year, many of them returning to the same place for over 3 decades, have a distinctive and little-studied perspective on weather experience and how seasonal changes, sudden weather shifts, and subtle weather irregularities are experienced first-hand in alpine regions. Drawing on recent fieldwork in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, this article sheds light on fire lookout observers' awareness of mountain weather in their everyday lived experience and in their observations of wildfires as severe weather events. A focus on wildfire smoke as one way of experiencing wildfires allows us to touch on the implications of smoke dispersal for communities near to and far from wildfires. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:36:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6e3c11da8886416fb921fa02480c2c69 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0276-4741 1994-7151 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:36:32Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | International Mountain Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mountain Research and Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-6e3c11da8886416fb921fa02480c2c692022-12-22T01:54:10ZengInternational Mountain SocietyMountain Research and Development0276-47411994-71512017-11-0137449450110.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-00048.1Weather Awareness: On the Lookout for Wildfire in the Canadian Rocky MountainsKristen Anne Walsh0Mary Sanseverino1Eric Higgs2School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, David Turpin Building, B243, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada; Kristen.walsh@hotmail.comDepartment of Computer Science, University of Victoria, Emeritus, Engineering & Computer Science Building, Room 504, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, CanadaSchool of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, David Turpin Building, B243, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, CanadaMountains are crucial places in which to observe, experience, and learn about rapid weather and climate shifts, felt to varying degrees in different contexts. Fire lookout observers, immersed in the mountain environments of Alberta, Canada, for 5 to 6 months of the year, many of them returning to the same place for over 3 decades, have a distinctive and little-studied perspective on weather experience and how seasonal changes, sudden weather shifts, and subtle weather irregularities are experienced first-hand in alpine regions. Drawing on recent fieldwork in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, this article sheds light on fire lookout observers' awareness of mountain weather in their everyday lived experience and in their observations of wildfires as severe weather events. A focus on wildfire smoke as one way of experiencing wildfires allows us to touch on the implications of smoke dispersal for communities near to and far from wildfires.http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-00048.1Canadian Rocky Mountainswildfiresfiressmokefire lookout observersweather awarenessvisibilityextreme weather events |
| spellingShingle | Kristen Anne Walsh Mary Sanseverino Eric Higgs Weather Awareness: On the Lookout for Wildfire in the Canadian Rocky Mountains Mountain Research and Development Canadian Rocky Mountains wildfires fires smoke fire lookout observers weather awareness visibility extreme weather events |
| title | Weather Awareness: On the Lookout for Wildfire in the Canadian Rocky Mountains |
| title_full | Weather Awareness: On the Lookout for Wildfire in the Canadian Rocky Mountains |
| title_fullStr | Weather Awareness: On the Lookout for Wildfire in the Canadian Rocky Mountains |
| title_full_unstemmed | Weather Awareness: On the Lookout for Wildfire in the Canadian Rocky Mountains |
| title_short | Weather Awareness: On the Lookout for Wildfire in the Canadian Rocky Mountains |
| title_sort | weather awareness on the lookout for wildfire in the canadian rocky mountains |
| topic | Canadian Rocky Mountains wildfires fires smoke fire lookout observers weather awareness visibility extreme weather events |
| url | http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-00048.1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kristenannewalsh weatherawarenessonthelookoutforwildfireinthecanadianrockymountains AT marysanseverino weatherawarenessonthelookoutforwildfireinthecanadianrockymountains AT erichiggs weatherawarenessonthelookoutforwildfireinthecanadianrockymountains |