Hotter, faster fires: can Canada preserve its threatened wildlife?

The half-moon hairstreak butterfly is among the endangered species fighting the heat and smoke of a record wildfire season

In late August 2017, a bolt of lightning struck Kenow Mountain in eastern British Columbia. In less than two weeks, the smouldering that ensued had transformed into a large forest fire, tearing through the rugged landscape and quickly spreading into Waterton Lakes national park.

The blaze consumed 19,303 hectares (48,000 acres) and while many of the park’s animals fled the flames and smoke, the endangered half-moon hairstreak butterflies could not. A large portion of the diminutive grassland species was lost after nearly half its habitat was destroyed, putting immense pressure on an already threatened population.