I find it a little disturbing that North Cowichan has no “robust” response plan to deal with wildfires.
Fire chief Ron French made that clear during the council meeting on Aug. 12. after Coun. Christopher Justice asked him, considering the threats from wildfires the region has been facing this summer, what the fire department’s level of preparedness is in the event of a major wildfire in the municipality.
While the Cowichan Valley Regional District runs the emergency response service for the entire region, Justice wanted to know what, if any, are North Cowichan’s plans to deal with situations specific to the municipality when wildfires threaten, like escape routes from communities adjacent to forests, of which North Cowichan has many.
French pointed out that North Cowichan’s fire fighters receive constant training in how to deal with wildfires as a result of the municipality's membership with the BC Wildfire Service, the provincial agency responsible for wildfire management, and the BCWS, and firefighters from communities across the province would also assist if North Cowichan was facing a major wildfire.
I was pleased to hear that, but he said there are no plans in place at this time to deal with specific scenarios, like escape routes so people would know how to get away from wildfires that are threatening their homes and communities.
French said North Cowichan currently has no FireSmart coordinator dedicated strictly to issues in the municipality, so there is no robust plan in place as to how to deal with different situations in different ways in the event of a wildfire.
I realize that North Cowichan is facing unprecedented financial difficulties, but not having a staff member dedicated to looking at each of the many communities that make up the municipality and develop plans that could instantly be put in play to help protect lives and properties when wildfires are quickly advancing seems a little short-sighted in this day and age.
As of mid-August, there were almost 1,000 wildfires reported across the province during this particularly hot and dry summer, many of which are still being dealt with, and we here in the Cowichan Valley and the mid-Island region had to face the scary Mount Underwood wildfire located just south of Port Alberni, which covered 3,548 hectares but was “being held” as of Aug. 27.
But not before it forced the closure of the road to Bamfield and knocked out power in the community for almost two weeks.
That fire could easily have reached the Cowichan Valley and wreaked havoc here if the wind conditions allowed it, but its smoke did reach the mid-Island a number of times, covering some communities, including Nanaimo, with a thick blanket of it that was reminiscent of some of the many smog-impacted cities in Asia.
Worryingly, the Mount Underwood wildfire has been called a "harbinger" of what's ahead for Vancouver Island in the years to come, according to one wildfire expert.
Lori Daniels, a UBC forestry professor with a focus on wildfires, told CBC News that the fire is one of the biggest in about 100 years of record-keeping on Vancouver Island, and that significant wildfires are expected to become more frequent as climate change impacts coastal forests.
That’s why I think North Cowichan must find the funding somewhere to hire a FireSmart coordinator, as French was subtly suggesting to council.
Not only could a FireSmart coordinator help plan escape routes from wildfires, they would also help support wildfire preparedness, prevention, and mitigation for residents and businesses in the community through public education, assessments, and mitigative work to reduce community risk from wildfires.
The coordinator and their team would also be responsible for organizing FireSmart participation at community events, such as farmer’s markets, local sporting competitions, school presentations, trade shows, and more to engage with the public and distribute FireSmart information on what people can do to protect themselves, and their homes and businesses, in the event of wildfires.
This type of information is extremely important for people to know as wildfires become more common.
At the end of the discussion at the council meeting on Aug. 12, Coun. Chris Istace said that, considering the municipality is 25 per cent forest reserve and has the most significant urban and wildland interfaces in the region, council should consider discussing the issue during its budget-planning process this fall.
That certainly sounds like a good idea to me.
