What immediate steps do we need to ensure we do not have another season of catastrophic fires in BC's southern interior?

- The goal is to work towards simply allowing surface fires to burn after natural ignitions. However, before this can happen we need to deal with removing the fuel built-up through decades of fire suppression. It is important that fuel removal is done according to sound ecological principles based on forest health;

- The first step is manually removing the  accumulation of fuel. There  is a

cost to doing this and because we are talking about young  trees (those that  have

grown since fire suppression began) and slash that was already left behind by logging, cost recovery is unlikely so it will involve a financial commitment from government;

- At the same time, houses built at the forest/human interface need to be built in such a way as to better protect them from fire. BC has no special building codes for people living at the southern interior fire forest interface. Recent reports have indicated that some houses built in the forest interface were apparently more flammable that the forest itself. Cedar shakes and wood siding need to be replaced with non-flammable material and stacked firewood and other fuel need to be kept away from the side of houses;

- Once the bulk of the excess fuel has been removed and houses at the interface are better protected, prescribed burns could then more safely be undertaken. Prescribed burns are deliberately lit fires, managed and controlled by a government agency for the purpose of periodically reducing fuel build up in fire forests. Prescribed burns also cost money: from $50 - $1000 per hectare depending on the size of the burn. Bigger is cheaper because there are fixed costs no matter how big it is;

- Parks Canada is currently the number one prescribed burner in the province;

- We need to ensure that areas are re-seeded with native grasses.

What are the long-term steps to restoring the ecological integrity of BC's southern interior fire forests?

- The provincial government needs to provide the resources for the development of local expertise in the area of fire forest ecology so we can truly "manage" our southern interior forests for long-term ecosystem health.In general, there is a great lack of knowledge and expertise about fire ecology in the province. There is no requirement for Registered Professional Foresters (RPFs) to understand or manage for fire. In fact, RPFs are not required to do professional upgrading of any kind which often translates to a general lack of knowledge about the current ecological understandings of forest ecosystems in the province;

- There is an immediate need for a wide-ranging inquiry that would examine forest fire management techniques and the need to engage in actions that put forest health first and foremost. Out of this a strategic plan for forest fire management would be developed;

- The Protection Branch of the Ministry of Forests has almost exclusive control for both fire suppression and site rehabilitation, yet the primary function of the ministry is to facilitate forest industry access to wood and open up new markets for that wood. We need to move fire management into an independent agency that includes representatives of the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection to better manage our forests for long-term health and biological diversity;

- Long-term stable fundingmust be allocated by government for a regular program of thinning and prescribed burning in BC's southern interior fire forests.

Lesson  2

Forest Fire Suppression

Terms and expressions

prescribed burning	– преднамеренное использование огня на территории при контроле за его интенсивностью
forest floor	– верхний слой лесной почвы
combat wildfires	– бороться с лесными пожарами
lookout towers	– пожарные вышки
report a fire	– сообщать о пожаре
accessibility	– доступность
a fire site	– место/ очаг пожара
ground transport	– наземный транспорт
“smokejumpers”	– «воздушные» пожарники
evolution of the fire	– распространение пожара
to be starved of fuel	– испытывать недостаток топлива
pumps	– насосы
aerial bombing with water	– тушение пожара с воздуха
controlled burns	– контролируемые пожары
to reduce underbrush	– уменьшить подлесок, подрост
fuel buildup	– накопление горючих материалов
fire frequency	– частота пожаров
devasting fires	– разрушительные пожары
flame – resistant	–пожаростойкий
fire – prone areas	– области, подверженные риску пожаров
water – spraying firetruck	– пожарные машины с гидрантами
fast attack team	– команда быстрого реагирования
shovel	– лопата
rakes	– пожарные грабли
hot shot crews	– команды, работающие в «горячих точках»
to douse areas	– орошать территории

 

Introductory exercises