Region Archives: Canada West

The events of this summer are a harbinger of things to come, and it’s time for serious discussion on the climate crisis. When the cost to Canada of the wildfires, the floods and the drought are tabulated, the bill will be enormous and it will be a continuing fact in the future. First Nations people live on the front lines and the cost of the forest fires has been especially hard on our people. Whether it was the loss of property or weeks spent in evacuation centres, our people suffered and, in some cases, disproportionately. Earlier this month the federal government provided the Prince Albert Grand Council with half a million dollars to train firefighters. This two-year pilot project will be delivered by the Grand Council’s emergency and protective services program and will provide both traditional knowledge and modern firefighting techniques. This type of approach should be repeated across the country.

A two-year pilot program in Saskatchewan aims to build a better understanding of the needs and requirements of First Nations in regions affected by wildfires. The federal government recently announced a program for fighting wildfires in the Prince Albert area specific to the region’s Indigenous communities. The two-year training initiative — billed as the Prince Albert Grand Council Indigenous wildfire stewards pilot program — looks to combine traditional and modern techniques for combating wildfire. At least one expert believes it will help to better mitigate devastation. “Individual communities require individual responses,” said Krystopher Chutko, an assistant geography and planning professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “What happens in (Saskatchewan) can be very different from what happens in any other community in Canada.” The program, receiving nearly $525,000 in federal funding, is scheduled to start in 2024.

The B.C. Wildfire Service has confirmed it temporarily reassigned crews fighting fires in the province’s Shuswap region after protesters showed up at an RCMP roadblock in what police say was an effort to “overwhelm” the blockade. Police say the protesters challenged officers at the blockade on the Trans-Canada Highway, after “threats of violence” against emergency workers prompted the Mounties to increase their presence there. Some residents of the Shuswap in B.C.’s Interior have been refusing to obey wildfire evacuation orders, prompting officials to warn that they are putting lives at risk and compromising firefighting strategies. …The tensions over the evacuation orders that cover about 11,000 people in the Shuswap. …The group dispersed after about an hour. RCMP say in a statement that officers de-escalated the situation safely, without incident.

In related coverage:

• Black Press: RCMP condemn convoy that wanted past wildfire blockade
• Global News: Shuswap residents “feel like criminals” over tensions with authorities

Bowinn Ma

North Shuswap resident Kyle Boppre offers a simple explanation when asked why he defied an evacuation order issued as a wildfire bore down on his neighbourhood. “It’s just, I guess, in my blood to fight,” he said. “We were able to save our home.” Boppre and others in the small communities that dot the Shuswap region’s waterfront felt like they were on their own, with no choice but to take the firefight into their own hands. But authorities say that their actions put their lives at risk and imperil firefighting strategies. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said Wednesday the unwanted presence of evacuation scofflaws could prevent tactics such as water-bombing or controlled burns. …Trent Tucker, a professor at Thompson Rivers University, lost his home to the fires. He said it’s entirely irresponsible for people to stay back in evacuation zones, and he’s “extremely upset” by stories “lionizing” those who defy evacuation orders.

In wake of the most recent wildfire disasters, including the devastation the island of Maui and parts of B.C. continue to experience, it is high time to reflect on an ecological approach to forest management. …Nowhere is that argument clearer than in B.C., where government data shows forest sector emissions generated in the last decade are greater than all industry sectors combined. The province has taken that information one step further, stating in two recent government reports that B.C. must change forest management practices so they support prioritizing ecosystem health and resilience over timber. …Throughout history, priority has been placed on finding opportunities to log the last valuable trees in existence. …The only solution to this new wildfire reality is changing our perspective on forest sector carbon emissions and that starts with putting ecologically driven forest management policies into practice.

Canada’s current wildfire season is devastating evidence of the effects of climate change, scientists say, but for some conspiracy theorists, the thousands of square kilometres of burnt ground isn’t enough to convince them. Instead, space lasers, arsonists and government plots to restrict people’s movement are some of the causes of the fires, according to fringe online circles. …these theories are widely circulated and boosted by social media algorithms. …Kawser Ahmed, professor at University of Winnipeg, said almost all conspiracy theories have a spark of truth but are distorted to attract attention. Forest fires, he said, are spectacular events that draw attention before the full facts come to light, and conspiracy theories fill in the gaps. But such theories harm those who are fleeing the fires and those who are fighting the blazes, he noted. …Kennedy said conspiracy theories can cause diminishing trust among people, which could reduce compliance with evacuation orders.

Wildfires have already burned a hole through the wooden wallets of BC. …It is the practice of the provincial government to focus firefighting efforts on areas where homes and other structures are in danger of burning. In the past, that has meant that parcels held by First Nations for their future financial sustainability over decades have been erased in a matter of a couple of weeks. …“Unfortunately, the active wildfires in the Quesnel and Williams Lake regions are affecting several tenure holders, including a First Nation held tenure by the name of Yun Ka Whu’ten Development Limited Partnership, and Tolko. …The largest forest products manufacturing company in the region, West Fraser Timber, has also been affected. The cultural, ecological and recreational losses are virtually incalculable, as is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted without purpose.

Bruce Blackwell

Fire suppression in the areas where homes touch on wilderness has made tremendous progress since recommendations two decades ago in a seminal report sparked by a devastating wildfire season in B.C., according to experts who contributed to that report. But experts add that much more work is needed on the prevention side to protect communities, another key recommendation of the report, called Firestorm 2003. …Bruce Blackwell, a longtime forestry consultant, said that 20 years ago there was no co-operation and co-ordination between city fire departments that protect structures and the B.C. Wildfire Service. Now their operations are integrated. And he pointed to resources from other city fire departments from all over the province that poured into Kelowna in the past week… “On the suppression side, I would say what’s going on in Kelowna has been exceptional. From that perspective, we’ve certainly made tremendous progress,” said Blackwell, who contributed to the 2003 report.

Bruce Ralston

B.C. Forests Minister Bruce Ralston blamed local governments for slow progress on reducing wildfire risk in-and-around their communities. But experts have said there isn’t enough funding to make substantive progress. …Asked during a wildfire briefing about the slow pace of clearing wildfire fuel in communities where homes touch wilderness areas, Ralston pointed to “well-developed” provincial funding programs to which municipalities and First Nations can apply to carry out the work. They can be the difference between successfully extinguishing a fire and seeing a fire … do profound damage to a community, said Ralston. …Experts put the blame on the province for a lack of progress on fire prevention, saying funding available to communities in no way matches the need. A Postmedia investigation also showed local governments faced obstacles to access funding and an overwhelming bureaucratic process.

Summer 2023’s record Interior blazes are serving as a reminder about the need to spend more to prevent and mitigate wildfires. But the province must also rethink its methods, according to a June report by an independent government and industry watchdog. “Wildfire risk reduction or restoration treatments can be costly, and there is currently little funding to support landscape treatment outside the wildland urban interface,” said the Forest and Fire Management in B.C. report from the Forest Practices Board (FPB). …“If the people of B.C. want to co-exist with fire, there is an urgent need to act now at a pace and scale that will achieve landscape resilience,” the report said. …South of the border, the Biden administration has already turned its attention toward landscape fire management. The 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy is part of an US$8.25-billion program to treat 20 million acres.

First Nations say British Columbia’s most destructive wildfire season to date is having devastating impacts on their communities. And not just on physical structures, but on culture and tradition. By July 18 of this year, more than 14,000 square kilometres of land had already burned in B.C., which broke a record of just over 13,500 square kilometres in 2018. One of the most significant fires up to July 18 was the Donnie Creek wildfire, the largest in the province’s history. It was burning — and continues to burn — in northeast B.C., in the traditional territories of the Prophet River First Nation, Doig River First Nation and Blueberry River First Nations. First Nations members say the cultural destruction from the Donnie Creek fire is impossible to quantify, and now similar loss is occurring due to fires burning in the Okanagan, Shuswap and Fraser Canyon.

This year has been the most destructive wildfire season on record in British Columbia. An unprecedented provincial state of emergency has been declared, and communities all over our province are facing evacuation orders and threats of fast-moving wildfires. …Our union is standing with the frontline staff who are working around the clock to keep our communities safe, including the almost 2,000 BCGEU members in the BC Wildfire Service – both those on wildland firefighting crews and the administrative professionals, dispatchers and many others that support their work. …Last week, our union launched an open letter asking Forests Minister Bruce Ralston to increase wages, offer firefighters the same pension as other public safety responders and fix outstanding payroll delays so that these workers can do the work they are so committed to with the resources they need. Now is the time to support wildland firefighters and they need your support!

Andrew Weaver

The summer of 2023 is one for the record books. June and July were the warmest months ever recorded, and extreme temperature records were broken around the world. …And yet, this pales in comparison to what we can expect in the years ahead from ongoing global warming arising from greenhouse gas emissions released through the combustion of fossil fuels. …It appears little has been done to prepare rural Canada for what’s in store as governments deal with immediate, rather than transformational approaches to wildfire management. …Forest management practices including forest fire prevention, monoculture reforestation and the use of glyphosate to kill off broadleaf plant species, will all have to be reassessed from a science- and risk-based perspective. …Canadians will take solace as summer turns into winter and the immediacy of our 2023 wildfire situation wanes. Unfortunately, it will be Australia’s turn next.