File Photo (Image Credit: Contributed / Kirat Guraya)

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: New wildfire training centre has great potential

Apr 21, 2024 | 6:00 AM

IT WILL TAKE A WHILE, but when a new wildfire training and education centre opens down the road, it could well provide a focal point for vast improvements in how we understand the behaviour of wildfires and how best to fight them.

Fighting wildfires has changed a lot. It’s much more complicated especially with drought, rapid changes in weather patterns and coordination of personnel.

When I was in my late teens, I was driving with a colleague on a road trip for the federal government. We were somewhere near Vanderhoof on Highway 16 when we saw smoke ahead. Next thing we knew, we were stopped and literally conscripted to fight a fire that had broken out. We were given a jacket, helmet and shovel, and put to work until the fire was out. I don’t know if that was common practice back in the early 60’s or even legal. And it sure scared the hell out of me at the time. It also gave me a tremendous appreciation of what first responders do and the danger they put themselves in every day.

It’s important that this new centre is totally integrated. We’ve seen how devastation can quickly occur. In 2003, we saw firsthand how much damage fires can do. The Elephant Hill fire, the devastation at Lytton, the fires in the Shuswap last year, a fast-spreading fire in Juniper, and these are only fires that are nearby.

By total integration, I mean exactly that. The centre must have access to weather experts, the best available information on equipment, the new developments that best integrate the use of air and ground attack, knowledge of new retardants that might be available, and the study of deployment of resources to allow rapid attack, follow-up ground procedures, integration of the the obvious expertise of Indigenous groups who know the history of the land and involvement of locals who want to help.

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It is a monstrous task, but if it is handled correctly, this centre could become a beacon for dealing with fires all over the world. Integration of knowledge from fighting wildfires in California or in Europe, or in other parts of Canada. All of this information put in a form that can be configured to fit the circumstances of any individual fire. Every fire creates different circumstances, but a tip from Quebec may trigger a response in the Fraser Canyon that could save thousands of lives.

It has to be done right, and we will probably only get one shot at doing it right. If we don’t, it will just be another gigantic waste of taxpayers’ money, and we have certainly seen enough of those, haven’t we? The various groups will have to put aside their egos and work together for the common good. That may be the biggest challenge of all. But as they say, hope springs eternal.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.