The Province is making changes to enable safer, more effective stewardship of the landscape, including forests, and the revitalization of cultural and prescribed fire and new compliance and enforcement measures.
Lead image: We Are Fire project team. Image courtesy of B/W Photo Wildfires occur across the world every year. Whether caused by a lightning strike or human activity, fire is inevitable. While it can be destructive, it is also natural, historical, and essential for the health of many plants, wildlife, and ecosystems. At first glance, […]
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, […]
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.
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.
A cooler, damper spring has alleviated early wildfire worries in the province, but officials are monitoring several drier regions closely.
Successful forest stewardship brings together provincial, regional, and local governments and other partners to plan, prioritize, and act together to create healthy, resilient ecosystems.