©Kira Hoffman

Managing wildfire risk, preparing for wildfire response, and supporting prescribed and cultural fire in British Columbia requires an integrated approach that considers fire early in the planning process. Designing harvest areas with controlled fire in mind allows forest and fire practitioners to create safer, more effective, and operationally feasible burn units. By incorporating fuel continuity, access, and control features into layout and harvest planning, harvested blocks can better support prescribed and cultural burning while contributing to broader landscape resilience when wildfires inevitably occur. Since 2017, more than 9.5 million hectares of forest in BC have been impacted by wildfire. That follows the mountain pine beetle epidemic that damaged 18 million ha of forest and contributed to the susceptibility of stands to wildfire. In the 1980s and 90s, prescribed fire was routinely used across BC as a silviculture site preparation tool to reduce residual fibre from harvest (i.e., slash), aid in replanting, and reduce wildfire risk to future stands.