EAST KOOTENAY, BC — This season’s forest fire tragedy unfolding around us is nothing less than an economic and ecological catastrophe and raises a troubling question – how bad can it get? According to UN statistics, the largest forest fire in recorded history occurred in 2003 when a mammoth blaze erupted in eastern Siberia and burned 22 million hectares. …The Donnie Creek fire in northeast B.C., at 120,000 hectares the largest in B.C.’s history. … So, what can we do to prevent forest fires from happening at all? …We can do things on the ground to lessen the chances of lightning strikes setting off major fires. For starters, we can pressure government to live up to its word and stop the cutting of old growth timber which is fire resistant because of its very nature. …What will fire season be like in B.C. a decade from now?