Jordan Coble

As wildfires worsen across the province, cikilaxwm (prescribed fire) is gaining more traction as a way to mitigate blazes before they begin, say experts at Westbank First Nation’s (WFN) forest and resource management company. For the past 10 years, Ntityix Resources has treated more than 300 hectares of land in syilx Okanagan homelands through cultural burns and other wildfire mitigation projects. Last year, the band-owned company conducted their first cultural burn outside of kiʔlawnaʔ (Kelowna), treating grasslands and open forestry that had not seen fire in decades. “Capacity is being built,” said Dave Gill, the general manager of Ntityix Resources. “(Cultural burns) are happening five or six times more than they were just a few years ago.” …“Fire is medicine. But just like any other medicine, you misuse it; it can consume you, it can destroy you,” said Jordan Coble, a WFN councillor and the president of Ntityix Resources.