To further reduce the risk of wildfires in communities in the Sea to Sky, the provincial government's regulations for forestry companies need to be brought up to speed, according to a new report.
In mid-June, the Forest Practices Board published the report .
The bottom line is the board's special investigation found more could be done by forest companies to mitigate against wildfires, but they are hampered by out-of-date or out-of-step provincial government regulations.
The board's special investigation looked at forestry activities between 2019 and 2022 in the Sea to Sky, Cariboo-Chilcotin, and Peace natural resource districts.
According to the board, the audits involved investigators sampling 43 cut blocks and 22 wildfire risk-reduction treatments within interface areas鈥攚here homes or development butt up against a forest鈥攖hat are classified by the province as at high or extreme risk of wildfire.
Investigators reviewed forestry plans and documentation, evaluated compliance with hazard and fuel-treatment requirements at logging sites, and interviewed First Nations, forestry professionals, government decision-makers and BC Wildfire Service staff.
Key findings
Fire hazard assessments
The investigation found that many fire hazard assessments the province requires are late, incomplete, or based on outdated methods.
In terms of the Sea to Sky, 69 % of cutblocks audited had completed fire hazard assessments; 64 % of those had their assessments completed within the specified time.
Of the completed assessments in the corridor, however, all met the content requirements, meaning they included in their assessments all that was needed.
Fire hazard abatement timelines
The investigation found that regulations for fire hazard abatement鈥攎eaning clearing away debris from forestry activity鈥攁llow up to 30 months to reduce fuel hazards鈥攅ven in high-risk areas.
So, debris can sit for 30 months on the ground, posing a wildfire risk.
"The 30-month period actually starts when they start logging, so it includes the time it takes them to harvest a cutblock. And then there still might be two years left after they are completed harvesting," said Forest Practices Board chair Keith Atkinson.
With climate change thrown into the mix, that length of time creates a wildfire hazard.
"Things have escalated so fast with drought conditions year after year [with] climate effects and we're all very hyper-aware," he added.
"We're trying to draw that attention to the interface zone around communities ... just focus in this area. There shouldn't be a 30-month window鈥攜ou should be abating as soon as possible, get right at it."
Prescribed measures鈥攎eaning what was required to reduce the risk鈥攆or abatement were followed 56 % in the Sea to Sky, according to the investigation.
Smoke control rules limiting effective wildfire mitigation
Planned and strategic burning of slash piles can help prevent wildfires, the report notes, but the provincial government's Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation (OBSCR), which restricts the days industry can burn them, limits one of the most effective fuel reduction tools, according to the investigation.
"Regulatory restrictions related to smoke control and abatement costs presented the greatest obstacles to licensees reducing hazards quickly," reads the report.
It notes that, in the Sea to Sky, there was one opportunity for a two-day burn window on average, and no opportunities in 2022 or 2023.
"It's part of the culture of not wanting to see fire, not wanting to see smoke in communities, and that's a culture we need to shift so that we're comfortable with prescriptive burning, using it as a practice, because it is a good practice for removing wildfire risk and preventing catastrophic fires and fires that really get into communities," said Atkinson.
The report, though, also highlights the proactive work of the Lil鈥檞at Nation for being inventive in this regard.
The Nation purchased air curtain incinerators鈥攄evices that look like big dumpsters that can burn forestry debris without the degree of smoke鈥攁s part of their managed forest tenures.
"Using air curtain incinerators allows a licensee to get an exemption for burning in high smoke sensitivity zones,鈥� the report notes.
Community wildfire risk reduction
According to the investigation, although community wildfire risk reduction (WRR) plans are being developed across the province, they鈥檙e not always accessible and are often not linked to licensee obligations.
This isn't the case in Squamish, which has a clear.
Overall, though, the report notes that the legal definition of an interface is "defined by the Wildfire Act and Wildfire Regulation as an area inside鈥攐r within two kilometres of鈥� improvement districts, water improvement districts or fire protection districts within regional districts. Fire hazards must be assessed and abated sooner if they are in the legal interface."
The problem is that the definition notably excludes municipalities, which most land managers would consider the wildland-urban interface.
"Nobody's ever cleaned up the language of that definition so that it's more fulsome, including all of these districts and the two-kilometre buffer," said Atkinson.
"And it makes it unclear to a logging company licensee, compared to a community group who's doing wildfire risk reduction plans, and it gets all confusing on who can do what," he added. "We're just saying that should be cleaned up and build that collaboration amongst the groups so that this zone is much more focused on as a problem area, and not just a mix-up in the jurisdictional boundaries."
Fire management stocking standards
Fire management stocking standards (FMSS) are how many trees per hectare that should be on a property after logging. The investigation found that while the province has had stocking standards since 2016, which help reduce wildfire risk, adoption of them is low.
Few licensees use fire management stocking standards, but encouragingly, they are all in the Sea to Sky.
"Cheakamus Community Forest LP, L铆l虛wat Forestry Ventures, and Spe暮k煤mtn Community Forest LP, all within the Sea to Sky natural resource district, reference FMSS in their FSPs. These three represent only 30 % of that district's licensees reviewed by the board."
The report says that logging occurs at 11 times the rate of wildfire risk reduction treatments in the interface between forests and communities, yet it is rarely planned with wildfire in mind.
"If you're trying to build a wildfire risk-reduced forest, a resilient forest fire, those stocking standards have to change. Some standards have been written, and then we just need professionals to adopt those and start using them, where we'll allow more deciduous trees to regenerate because they're good buffers from fire. We can have fewer trees per hectare ... it's an open ground. The real thickets are prone to fire," Atkinson said.
"We're saying that should be kind of required in the two-kilometre [buffer] zone too."
Ultimately, according to the report, the board's investigation reveals a forest industry "where responsibilities and incentives remain disconnected. But the knowledge, skills, and commitment already exist."
Now that the investigation has exposed this, though, the report says there is a chance to course correct: "to bring forestry and wildfire disciplines and practitioners together to create safer [wildland-urban interfaces] across all communities within B.C."
鈥楽ignificant challenges and limited resources鈥�
The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) president and CEO, Kim Haakstad said the council takes the findings of this report seriously, but also noted the industry is currently facing significant challenges.
鈥淎s wildfire risks grow, we remain focused on supporting practices and policies that protect communities, strengthen forest health, and ensure B.C.鈥檚 forestry sector continues to play a positive and proactive role in building a more resilient future,鈥� she said, in an emailed statement.
鈥淲hile forestry professionals have expertise to contribute to these efforts, the sector is facing significant challenges and limited resources. The forest industry is in crisis due to uncertainty around access to wood, an inability to get permits on a timely basis, and economic pressures. For the industry to sustain the people, equipment, and operations needed to support wildfire risk reduction, these activities must be economically viable,鈥� she added.
鈥淲ildfire resilience requires co-ordinated partnerships. Government, First Nations, licensees, local communities, and wildfire professionals all have a role to play. Funding partnerships are essential to ensure that companies are not expected to absorb the full cost of wildfire mitigation or operate at a loss.鈥�
Ultimately, she said COFI supports efforts to strengthen co-ordination and improve regulatory clarity.
鈥淭his includes timely removal of debris, modernized fuel hazard guidelines, and better alignment between forest operations and local wildfire risk reduction plans,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e share the board鈥檚 view that the forest industry can and should be a key partner in building more fire-resilient communities and landscapes. When aligned with wildfire mitigation priorities, forestry activities鈥攕uch as harvesting, commercial thinning, fuel management, and stand regeneration鈥攃an help reduce wildfire risk, support forest health, and protect communities.鈥�
鈥楩ocus our energy here鈥�
Atkinson says studies show it will take decades to create a fire-resilient forest throughout the province, and it is accepted that residents will be living with more wildfires due to climate change.
"What we're trying to do is focus on communities at risk. Let's really focus our energy there.
If we don't change the status quo, that just keeps communities at risk... We want to look after the communities and our people, their interests, their infrastructure, all of this stuff," he said.
Recommendations
Board recommendations for the province:
1. Set proactive fire management objectives: Establish proactive fire management objectives in the interface to reduce wildfire hazards.
2. Improve legal definitions and transparency: Ensure the wildland-urban interface includes municipalities and other high-risk populated areas, and that maps defining the legal interface are publicly available.
3. Increase public accessibility of wildfire risk-reduction plans: Create a centralized, public repository for community-scale wildfire risk reduction plans to support co-ordinated action, community advocacy and cross-jurisdictional wildfire risk reduction.
4. Strengthen fire-hazard abatement timelines: Require abatement periods to follow an "as soon as practicable" standard to reduce prolonged wildfire vulnerability.
5. Enhance fire-hazard assessment guidelines: Revise and update the Ministry of Forests' 2012 fuel-hazard assessment and abatement guidelines to address current limitations and align with best practices in wildfire risk assessment.
"All of our recommendations in this report are to the government," said Atkinson.
"There is definitely expertise, and there are people in the regions that can make good decisions and do this," he said.
"[The recommendations] are largely about changing the regulations to allow the professionals, allow the licensees, allow the community expertise to actually put this stuff into action in their regions."
Government to 鈥榗arefully review鈥�
For its part, in response to a series of specific questions regarding the report from The 撸奶社区, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Forests said the ministry was reviewing it. "We have received a copy of the report, Help or Hinder? Aligning Forestry Practices with Wildfire Risk Reduction, with recommendations for government from the Forest Practices Board. It will take time to carefully review the final report and consider these recommendations,鈥� the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
鈥淩educing the risk of wildfires is a priority for the ministry. We take this work seriously and based on a preliminary review of the recommendations, we believe a number of initiatives underway across the Ministry address the recommendations."
