Bruce Uzelman

British Columbia’s Eby government has vigorously addressed two of the top issues facing the country. It has gone further and faster than any other provincial government to stimulate housing construction, and has most aggressively incentivized primary care providers and addressed other healthcare issues. In that context, it is disappointing that the B.C. government has been so slow to proactively reduce wildfire risk, particularly given B.C.’s extreme susceptibility to and loss from such fires. Measures to minimize wildfire risks have been identified and urged on governments for two decades or longer. …It’s clear the provincial government is seriously underfunding risk reduction measures, and that is burdening the government and residents of B.C. with extensively more wildfire destruction and cost. Prescribed burns need to be expanded rapidly within the wildland-urban interface and beyond. …The B.C. government’s approach to wildfires and wildfire risk must fundamentally change, urgently, before more, expansive wildlands are irretrievably lost.