Suggestion for How to Proceed

There is a lot of discussion about how to proceed with the aftermath of this horrendous wildfire that had such a profound impact on the North and South Shuswap and I would like to make this suggestion.

Under Provincial legislation, an interface fire becomes the direct responsibility of local authorities – in our case the CSRD. At this point the Province supports the local authority. Local authorities thus have a clear interest in avoiding interface fires.

A study of Provincial legislation, regulations and Ministry plans and strategies relating to wildfires makes it clear that there is a fundamental belief that wildfire is good for the ecosystem of the forest. It is this belief that influences how the Province approaches what they call an “unwanted” fire.  In our case the result was the back burn instead of suppression. This practice is why we have previously had interface fires in Salmon Arm (2003), White Rock Lake (2021) and others.

Somehow stakeholders need to change the Ministry’s initial approach to dealing with an unwanted fire.

I suggest that the CSRD host a public meeting with our three Area Directors affected by the 2023 fires and appropriate staff present. This meeting should be held a couple of months from now giving groups and individuals time to put together their submissions and presentations. If more than one public meeting is required, so be it.

The CSRD should determine if they need to change their fire suppression practices and other Emergency Services responsibilities. Furthermore it should consider how the Wildfire Protection Branch of the Ministry of Forests should change its policy when dealing with the initial stages of an unwanted fire to better prevent an interface fire.

Other local authorities have also dealt with massive interface fires this season. These local authorities should establish a unified strategy to press the Province to make fundamental changes to how they deal with an unwanted fire to prevent that fire from becoming an interface fire. Unfortunately the Union of BC Municipalities (the unified voice of local government) does not meet until the fall of each year making it too late for local government to press the Province for change before the 2024 fire season.

Phil Clark