By Terry Curell
We watch in horror as southern California stars in its own disaster movie, taking comfort in the belief such devastation could never happen here in beautiful B.C., but is that confidence justified? Given the rate of climate change, can we say with certainty we are safe from wildfires?
If I’ve learned anything from over four decades of fighting fires with helicopters, it’s that when conditions are right, wildfires — like tsunamis, hurricanes, or volcanic eruptions — are a force of nature whose power mocks humankind’s puny efforts to control it. In the Taleomey Valley, near Bella Coola, I’ve seen wildfire create its own gale-force winds as old-growth forest was reduced to a smoking monochromatic wreck in a matter of hours. As I evacuated crews, burning tree limbs fell from the smoke as updraft gave way to gravity. The wind’s howl and the fire’s roar were deafening, at which point, firefighters and pilots became bystanders. Only the onset of rain finally put it out for good.
Wildfire needs these three things: fuel, temperature, and an ignition source.
1. We are blessed to live in a temperate rainforest, but there’s another way to look at all that lush greenery — standing fuel. The forest floor is often a tangle of deadfall and bushes — more fuel.
2. Climate change means higher summer temperatures and weeks, sometimes months, without rain, especially on south-facing slopes where temperatures can reach 40˚ C or more.
3. If we’re lucky, we may not have a lightning storm, or perhaps that broken piece of glass in the dry grass isn’t positioned quite right to act as a magnifying glass, or possibly that discarded cigarette rolls into a crevice in the rock. Or maybe the neighbour’s kid hasn’t figured out that a single match will bring an air show to his doorstep.
Government agencies, such as the local fire department or the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), do their best. Still, budgets dictate resource availability, and they may very well be committed elsewhere when you need them. Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue very ably serves Salt Spring, but its limited resources may be committed elsewhere on the island. BCWS’s Cobble Hill Fire Base and the initial attack response are hindered by the inevitable ferry delays. If the need is urgent, a crew may be dispatched by helicopter, but as is often the case in high fire season, there may be no aircraft immediately available. In short, it’s a good idea to be proactive about protecting your home and family.
“Be prepared” isn’t just for Boy Scouts.
• Register with your local emergency response organization.
• Go to firesmartbc.ca and learn what you can do now to protect your home from wildfires. Then, book a visit from Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue to assist with a FireSmart audit of your home and property, targetting potential hazards.
• Ensure you’ll receive alerts from emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca.
• Enrol in the Capital Regional District’s Public Alert Notification System (PANS) for timely emergency notices.
• Sit down with your family and ensure everyone is involved in creating a family evacuation plan.
• Keep irreplaceables in a grab-and-go bag when fire hazards are high or extreme.
Maybe we’ll be lucky again this summer and avoid the wildfire catastrophes that befall others in B.C. But when the heat and drought become more severe, every year, are you willing to take that chance?