Preservation Often Means Neglect

What we are calling preservation is more often than not, actually neglect.

The image above shows a much used and beloved local park before a wildfire drastically changed it in late July 2024.

As a society we need to decide on our priorities and objectives and manage the land accordingly. Focusing on wildfire risk reduction as a priority will also take care of many of our other valuable assets. Some people may be unhappy with the priorities and work but it will be for the greater good. I suspect if victims of recent large scale wildfire disasters were polled all would say they wish more had been done to mitigate their losses.

Condolences

First, my condolences to all who have suffered losses and disruption in recent wildfires. I have experienced wildfires entering communities and know the devasting effects on residents and business’s. You are in for a long and difficult road of recovery but here is hoping it is as speedy and efficient as possible. Many people are pointing fingers or trying to further personal agendas based on these losses. I suggest you pause, think of the people affected and try to help them with their immediate needs. We can then move on to resolving this ongoing larger issue.

Where I Have Lost Fires

I have worked on fires for a long time. In my experience when we lose a fire it is usually in some form of preserved area such as a riparian leave strip, wildlife tree patch, old growth management area, watershed reserve, visual quality area, mule deer winter range. park, or other special management zones. These areas all have excluded all management activities and limited access.

Riparian reserve strip blowdown – pest and disease nursery and a potential wick to carry fire through what is a potential defensible line

I have laid out control lines in neck deep deadfall immediately behind communities knowing our efforts were likely futile due to the excessive fuel load. In some cases I observed old ribbon of a proposed harvest block or fuel modification project. I enquired and discovered the proposed work was shut down by protesting individuals or groups.

Fuel load on a proposed control line next to private property at Lee Creek 2023.

Fuel load on proposed control line immediately behind Lac le Jeune 2023.

Where I Have Stopped Fires

The locations we usually  stop fires is in cut blocks and using old logging roads. This isn’t as dependable lately as I am encountering variable amounts of post harvest debris (slash) loads but the roads still provide access and a defensible lines. There are standards being developed for measuring and reducing these fuels. This should make these sites more dependable defensible lines.

As well we have met with success using areas that have had fuel modification adjacent to communities to control fire spread. Kalamalka, Ellison and Myra Bellvue Parks have all had successful mechanized fuel modification projects that involved removing merchantable timber.

How to do the Required Work

There is a considerable outcry for the government to take action and increase funding for fuel reduction. This isn’t a sustainable answer. Governments run on a four or five year election cycle and valuable programs often disappear with any change. They also face numerous demands for our tax dollars. The current fuel modification system is too slow and expensive to maintain and there is a a huge opportunity for the forest industry, with substantial oversight, to get this job done. We need to ramp this work up from very expensive, small scale “boutique” level projects to large scale and cost effective methods. Many contractors are already adapting and buying equipment that will increase production, lower costs and reduce the impact of fuel reduction in sensitive areas.

Mother Nature is in Charge

We need to quit thinking that just preserving an area will keep it in the same condition in perpetuity. Mother Nature will eventually change it. We have an opportunity to implement cost effective, and possibly profitable, actions to protect our assets from wildfire. We can do this and still meet many of our other land management objectives.

There are many win/win/win solutions that could benefit us all.

Talk soon

Doug