Christine Gelowitz

Wildfires are part of the natural ecosystem — have been for thousands of years and will continue to be in the future. While the scale and impact of wildfire in B.C. appears to be increasing exponentially, there are more steps we could take to protect our communities and the forest, and to improve our ability to respond to and minimize the impact of wildfires. But doing so will not be easy or simple. It takes co-operation among the public, landowners, forest professionals, First Nations, firefighters, emergency responders and, most importantly, elected government representatives. …The core ingredients for a new vision and approach to wildfire is readily available in BC if governments are ready to make the investment and drive the required policy changes. Good ideas abound.

Earlier this year, the B.C. Forest Practices Board released a special report urging the provincial government to align policies and programs across all levels of government to enable landscape-level fire management. …Dr. Mike Flannigan of Thompson Rivers University, estimates that every dollar spent on prevention and mitigation saves $5 to $15 spent on fighting wildfires. The time for waiting and conducting more studies is over. In many communities, the planning is completed and solutions have been tabled. Now they need to be implemented by policy and government funding at a scale comparable with the efforts devoted to wildfire emergency response. B.C. has skilled and competent people who can help move wildfire prevention and mitigation activities forward. …We know the solutions. We have the expertise. Now we just need the will to act.