Tackling a future of expected 'extreme' wildfires in B.C.
It’s only May, but there’s already been 113 wildfires in B.C. this year.
It might seem like a lot, but compared to last year, those numbers are significantly lower due to a cold, wet spring.
“Our temperatures are looking below seasonal," said Erika Berg, a provincial wildfire information officer. "As well, we’ve had some pretty fair precipitation, even in areas like the Interior.”
But a good start to the season doesn’t mean B.C. is out of the woods long-term.
“Due to the effects of climate change, extreme weather events like the heat dome that we experienced last year are that much more likely,” said Berg. “Meanwhile, fire seasons are that much more extreme.”
So how does B.C. prepare for a future with more “extreme” wildfires? A former wildland firefighter turned researcher has some ideas.
“One of the things that we can do … a little bit more proactively is shifting what there is available to burn and actually create … fire breaks on the landscape,” explained Mathieu Bourbonnais, assistant professor of earth, environment and geographic sciences at UBC Okanagan.
“That could be through mechanical thinning or hand thinning in forests around communities and space out fuels and reduce the fuel loads.”
Bourbonnais said prescribed burns are another means of lowering the intensity of wildfires when they happen.
“People are tending today to call it good fire, putting fire back on the landscape in kind of a controlled manner to reduce the overall fuels that are available,” he said.
Reducing wildfire risk may also mean looking at how replanting is done and replanting with more fire-resistant trees like Aspens.
“There’s a lot of … forests out there that are very much single-species forest and single-age stands, that if a fire gets into that, it can spread rapidly, so thinking a little bit differently about how we replant (is important),” Bourbonnais said.
His research includes using sensors flown from aircraft or drones to develop three-dimensional models of forests.
“We can look at how a forest is structured, both vertically and horizontally, to understand how the fuels are configured and if a fire happened there, where are your most high-risk zones and how we might mitigate that,” he said.
He believes building resilience to extreme fires requires a more proactive approach.
And despite the slow start to the fire season, all that could change in an instant.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
'Secret report' or standard research? B.C. government addresses safe supply allegations
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
She was too sick for a traditional transplant. So she received a pig kidney and a heart pump
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.