Record B.C. wildfire season points to growing threat to urban areas

The devastation wrought by wildfires on areas in the Central Okanagan such as West Kelowna have put the spotlight on preparedness in B.C. in urban communities.

Port Moody Fire Rescue is one of many fire departments in Metro Vancouver looking to boost their equipment and training to fight interface fires — wildfires threatening built-up areas due to the close proximity of forests and vegetation.

The department is using funding from the Union of B.C. Municipalities to take a proactive approach that involves gearing up, and teaching the community how to prepare, Port Moody Fire Rescue Deputy Chief of Training Kirk Heaven explained.

3:48 Amid threats and abuse, B.C. fire chief urges compassion

“One of the biggest ones is education. We’re in the schools every year teaching the younger kids about FireSmart, we also do what we call fire blitzes, neighbourhood blitzes where we send the crews up into areas of the city and we go door to door asking people if they know about the FireSmart program and giving out pamphlets,” he told Global News.

“Another thing we’re very proactive about is offering the citizens in the city an opportunity for us to send crews up there to do a FireSmart assessment of the property.”

Those assessments involved a two-to-three hour on-site visit from firefighters, who show homeowners how to keep their property safe from fire hazards, such as keeping decks clear, keeping bark mulch away from homes and trimming trees or vegetation too close to houses.

They’re also always looking to expand their stock of structure protection equipment.

“We’re able to expand as many houses as we can to about 60, 70 homes we can actually put sprinklers on — the idea for that is to be proactive for the fire when the embers come … the embers can go a kilometre or two away and start lighting houses on fire that way.”

The B.C. FireSmart program is a provincially-funded initiative aimed at helping British Columbians and municipalities take proactive steps to prepare for fires, while employing prevention and mitigation strategies to limit their spread or stop them from starting in the first place.

4:36 What is the urban fire risk in Metro Vancouver?

Speaking Wednesday, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the program is fully funded, but hasn’t seen the uptake officials would like.

As the province grapples with its worst-ever wildfire season, he said the government will look at potentially boosting that funding — and is hoping the initiative will see a bigger buy-in from individuals and communities.

“The public debate is there — sometimes the challenge is execution,” he said

“But I sense that municipalities and the public, particularly after this fire season, will be much more disposed to talk about these and welcome the efforts and their opportunity to participate … in the work of fire prevention and general response to disasters.”

With scientists reporting that climate change is already delivering longer and more intense wildfire seasons, UBC forestry expert Dr. kelsey Copes-Gerbitz said it’s incumbent for people — even those in urban areas — to learn how to prepare for, and co-exist with fires.

“At this point in time, really nowhere is immune to the effects of wildfire, and that includes us here in the Lower Mainland and other coastal communities … If you live within two kilometres of a forested area, potentially 10 kilometres, then you’re at risk,” she said.

“It’s important to recognize that preparing and preventing wildfires is really everyone’s responsibility. That includes our governments that can prepare plans … all the way down to individual homeowners and individual families who can prepare to evacuate at a moment’s notice. ”

It’s a potent argument in a fire season that’s already seen hundreds of homes destroyed throughout B.C.’s Southern Interior.

Up to 200 structures in the West Kelowna-Kelowna area have been lost due to the McDougall Creek wildfire, while scores more are believed to have burned in fires raging in the North Shuswap.