September 30 marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, recognizing the tragic history of residential schools, including the missing children, the families left behind and the survivors. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is now a statutory holiday in BC, allowing more British Columbians to get involved in advancing reconciliation by participating in local events, […]
How a B.C. Indigenous community is reintroducing traditional fire knowledge and practices to manage land vulnerable to wildfires
While fire is essential for the ecosystems found in British Columbia, uncontrolled wildfires can threaten lives, infrastructure, and resources. In a province that experiences an average of 1,352 wildfires per year, proper fire management techniques are crucial for preserving nature while protecting people and property.
At the suggestion of his best friend at the time, Matt Lees applied to work at the Cariboo Fire Centre when he was 18 and was hired on for the summer as a firefighter.
In the late 1980s, the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) and Indigenous communities were both facing challenges, which they were able to turn into a joint opportunity.
Indigenous partnerships are the foundation of prescribed fire and cultural burning in British Columbia. Working together through knowledge sharing, training, and boots on the ground is crucial to ensuring the continued health and resilience of the province’s ecosystems, and mitigating the impacts of wildfire on our forests and communities. The importance of everyone doing their […]
Following the devastating 2021 fire season, the Province announced that Budget 2022 would more than double the funding available to protect British Columbians from wildfires by increasing funding for several wildfire prevention programs and initiatives , including increasing prevention and mitigation activities like cultural burning and prescribed fire.
Indigenous communities have been leading wildland fire mitigation and prevention in Canada since time immemorial. Through generational practices like cultural burning they’ve helped shape the lives of humans, plants, animals, and the environment itself.
Just north of Kamloops, B.C., sits Chu Chua, home of the Simpcw First Nation and the first Indigenous Initial Attack (IIA) crew for the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).