B.C. needs dedicated, cross-government wildfire strategy: former minister
CTV
A former British Columbia forests minister says the province is on the right track as it responds to worsening wildfires, but the scale of the challenge is so great, it's falling behind and needs to prioritize a "whole-of-society" approach.
A former British Columbia forests minister says the province is on the right track as it responds to worsening wildfires, but the scale of the challenge is so great, it's falling behind and needs to prioritize a "whole-of-society" approach.
Doug Donaldson says the place to start should be a dedicated provincial wildfire strategy that lays out responsibilities for each government ministry, while supporting the participation of local communities, civil society and the forest industry.
The former member of the legislature for Stikine, who served as forests minister from 2017 to 2020, says the BC Wildfire Service has a strategy but it's about a decade old.
He says it needs to be updated and "elevated" into a cross-ministry strategy that could launch the province toward the approach it needs to respond to wildfires that are increasingly threatening communities in B.C.
Donaldson is the co-author of a new report released Tuesday from a wildfire-focused research group based at the University of Victoria.
He describes the report as a "snapshot" of wildfire risk and response in B.C. and a "launching pad" for further work.
The report comes as officials keep a close eye on the forecast in northeastern B.C., where wildfires have forced several thousand people out of their homes, including the entire community of 4,700 in Fort Nelson.
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