Record-breaking wildfire season in 2023 cost Quebec more than $8B: New study
The historic wildfires that ripped through Quebec in 2023, destroying millions of hectares of forest and impacting thousands of people, is estimated to have cost over $8 billion.
That's according to a new provincially funded study published Wednesday by Nada Conseils — a climate action consultancy firm — highlighting the impacts and collective costs of the fires on citizens, governments, businesses and ecosystems.
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According to SOPFEU, the agency responsible for wildfire prevention and suppression in Quebec, the 2023 wildfire season was the worst in over 100 years with 713 fires — 99.9 per cent of which were caused by lightning — burning 4.3 million hectares of forest.
Evacuations affected around 27,000 people across 26 municipalities and Indigenous communities, disrupting people's lives and livelihoods.
For governments, much of the costs incurred stemmed from firefighting operations, emergency services including evacuations and housing evacuees, and financial assistance programs.
Quebec wildfire smoke. (NOAA)
Researchers with Nada Conseils highlighted how roads had to be closed and forestry and mining operations were forced to stop in affected regions. This had repercussions not only on industry but local economies where businesses were closed down.
"We now know that some of these businesses, even though they are reopened now, there is still an impact on their business revenues, even two years after the fires," said Laurent Da Silva, Nada Conseils co-founder and a climate change economist.
The report notes that some of the most significant costs for citizens were linked to property damage, as well as financial impacts related to lost income and increased expenses.
While some forests burned, others were off limits to mitigate the wildfire risk, impacting activities such as fishing and hunting.
Way of life disrupted
The activities are not only essential to some local populations but also represent a traditional way of life, according to the report's authors.
"Being rooted in the territory is important," Da Silva said. "For remote or forest communities, it was a complete loss of a summer. All forest activities that are the foundation of life in these communities were halted. [...] It's a way of life that was impacted."
Across Quebec, 655 hunting camps, makeshift shelters and cottages under vacation leases were burned by the 2023 forest fires, including 149 in Cree territory where the buildings often double as a permanent residence and can hold significant spiritual value
2023 Ontario and Quebec wildfire smoke. (NASA)
Meanwhile, plumes of smoke emanating from the wildfires blanketed much of Quebec, leading to deteriorating air quality with Montreal under air quality advisories for 19 days between April and November, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
"On days of intense pollution, smoke from forest fires caused around 90 additional deaths, mainly from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases," the report states.
Additionally, the health network reported 964 emergency room visits and 110 hospitalizations to treat cases of asthma, bronchitis and other lung conditions.The additional burden on the health-care system is estimated to have cost $585.4 million, while the total impact on citizens is estimated at $935 million.
Long-term costs difficult to estimate
But researchers found that a lot of the long-term costs are difficult to estimate, including impacts on mental health.
Da Silva said many people they interviewed reported how 2023 was a turning point in their mental health, with some saying they started taking medication for depression.
The fires, he said, changed the way they saw their futures. "It's very difficult to quantify and we didn't put a dollar sign."
The long-term environmental impact on the boreal forest ecosystem is also hard to understand and therefore quantify.
Da Silva explained that while the boreal forest needs to burn in order to regenerate, the 2023 event was exceptional.
(SOPFEU via CBC)
"We know that some area of the forest might have difficulty to regenerate," he said. "What's uncertain is if we have more and more fires in the future it might change the dynamic of the boreal forest...we don't know how it will evolve."
By quantifying the direct and indirect impacts of the wildfires, Da Silva hopes people will gain a better understanding of the value of the forest and work to ensure its resiliency in the face of climate change.
Damon Matthews, a professor of geography, planning and environment at Concordia University, said the study demonstrates a need for action beyond just making communities resilient.
"If we don't address the root causes of climate change, there's going to be a limit to adaptation and we're going to start getting into a world where certain parts of the world become unlivable because the climate damages are too high," he said.
"We need to decarbonize the economy as fast as possible."
Nada Conseils says that it will continue to study these impacts and propose concrete action that government and individuals can take to reduce the overall costs of these climate events.
It plans to release that study in 2026.
Thumbnail courtesy of SOPFEU via CBC.
The story was originally written by Annabelle Olivier and Sharon Yonan-Renold, and published for CBC News.