BC Wildfire Service (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

WILDFIRE MANAGMENT

Clearwater Mayor leading UBCM panel on the future of wildfire management

Sep 15, 2023 | 4:22 PM

CLEARWATER B.C. — The annual Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) meeting is set to kick off on Monday (Sept. 18) in Vancouver. The convention brings together councillors and regional directors from across British Columbia to make policy decisions and discuss local and provincial issues with each other as well as provincial ministers and opposition MLAs.

At the event, Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell will be hosting a panel discussion on the future of wildfire management in the face of the devastating 2023 wildfire season in the province. The timing for the panel comes as Blackwell states we saw a level of wildfire this year that wasn’t expected for another 10-to-15 years with climate change.

“With the amount of territory that has burned this year, we have seen that there can never be enough structural protection units, there can never be enough wildfire crews,” said Blackwell. “We have pinned the needle, we have cranked it to 11 this year and I think we need to look at a wildfire fighting system that includes contractors again, that includes private forestry crews, that includes average citizens that are fit and have the proper training.”

The 2023 wildfire season is the worst in the history of B.C. in term of hectares lost. Blackwell believes municipalities will have a roll to play in future wildfire mitigation, which may involve some tough love.

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“As communities, we are going to have to start offering that training. We are going to have to get aggressive with Firesmart programs. We may actually have to go to bylaws telling people they may have to Firesmart their homes and areas of risk. we might not be able to be polite about that anymore,” said Blackwell.