New B.C. program to train wildfire volunteers gets mixed reviews from Interior communities

With the 2025 wildfire season looming, Jamie Viera is fighting for any aid that will help communities in B.C.'s Interior build resiliency and volunteer strength on the fire line.

"Community groups are involved in wildfire response whether we want them to [be] or not," said Viera, the general manager of operations with the Thompson Nicola Regional District. "We want to build those relationships and support those community groups."

On Thursday, the regional board passed a resolution to support the B.C. government's inaugural Cooperative Community Wildfire Response program (CCWR) and apply for part of a new $60 million FireSmart fund to train and equip volunteer groups willing to help B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) crews in rural and remote areas. 

But the pilot program is dividing regional districts and communities hoping to work more closely with the wildfire service and protect rural properties.

Last month, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District's (CSRD) board of directors voted to decline participation in the program and to seek any funding.   A letter sent to the provincial government cited numerous problems, including lack of consultation, the administrative costs involved and the scope of the program. 

"We were surprised in October to learn …  that regional districts were solely responsible for administering the program and essentially, the revised program was downloaded to regional government and done not only in terms of responsibility, but also fully in cost," said CSRD board chair Natalya Melnychuk.

LISTEN | Why CSRD is rejecting provincial funding: 

Only groups operating in rural areas, outside of jurisdictions covered by existing municipal or volunteer fire companies, can apply.    

Funding won't cover any activity related to actual wildland firefighting; only costs of basic wildfire safety training, personal protective gear and "relevant work" like patrols and post-fire mop-up will be covered. 

"We went out after the 2023 fires and had community consultation and heard about ways, lessons learned, and ways to do things differently.  And we heard explicitly … there are certain residents that want to be involved in fire suppression," Melnychuk said.

In 2023, the Bush Creek East wildfire complex tore through communities around Adams Lake and Shuswap Lake and the land straddling both the Thompson-Nicola and Columbia Shuswap Regional districts.

More than 250 properties were destroyed in communities like Scotch Creek and more than 45,000 hectares of forests burned, causing almost a quarter billion dollars in insured damage. 

WATCH | North Shuswap residents return to fire-ravaged homes:

During the crisis, some residents who were ordered to evacuate their homes refused to leave and pleaded with the BCWS for more support and information.