None of the communities have been struck by a fire disaster, but several have come close and each is considered vulnerable
For the fire chief of Nelson, B.C., it’s not a question of if but when a wildfire will roll through his Kootenay community. Nestled in a shallow valley of the Selkirk Mountains, the small city is surrounded by towering forests of Douglas fir, lodgepole pine and Western redcedar, ideal fuel for a hungry fire.In the event of a fire, more than 11,000 residents and several thousand day visitors will be rushing to gather their belongings and flee along one of the three two-lane highways out of town.
“Communities across Canada need to prepare for wildfire. And we can’t predict where it’s going to happen next. All you can do is look at what’s possible and start to plan for it,” said University of Alberta associate professor and wildland fire expert Jen Beverly. She maps out the land surrounding each town or city and determines what kind of fire fuel exists. She looks at what areas carry the highest amount of combustible material and asks what pathways that fuel might create. Could it lead a blaze into the community or cut off a main road out? And how fast could it channel a blaze into town?
“Until the community starts to really delve into where their vulnerabilities are, they may not know just how risky they are,” Dr. Beverly said.
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