Does fire have a bad PR team? Researchers at the University of Victoria (UVic) think maybe so.
A new study – titled Beneficial Fire in British Columbia: An Exploration of How Fire Can Contribute to Wildfire Resilience – by the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project, out of UVic's Centre for Global Studies finds that 'beneficial fire' will be essential to reducing wildfire risk and promoting wildfire resilience.
While it may sound counterintuitive, the report explores the concept of beneficial fire in an attempt to shift away from the view that fire is strictly bad. In fact, fire is essential to many B.C. ecosystems, and these researchers are encouraging greater use of fire as a positive force.
“To promote wildfire resilience, society can increase the amount of beneficial fire and reduce the amount of detrimental fire,” says Kevin Kriese, report co-author and senior wildfire and land use analyst at the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project.
For the past decade, B.C. wildfires have broken numerous records. 2023 was the worst fire season in B.C. over the past decade, with 2,293 total fires trumping 2022's 1,801 and marking a 242 per cent increase in the number of fires from 2020, which saw 670 fires – the fewest from any one year between 2012 and 2023.
"Addressing this wildfire crisis will require a whole-of-society approach that includes improving governance, expanding proactive strategies that mitigate risks to ecosystems and communities, improving knowledge of wildfire and growing capacity among governments, communities and industry," UVic stated in a media release promoting the study.
The POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project proposed the working definition of beneficial fire as "planned or unplanned wildland fire that has positive effects on ecosystem processes and functions and has acceptable risk to human communities. Beneficial fire typically includes cultural fire, prescribed fire, and managed wildfire"
Employing beneficial fire is a strategy that Kriese says is gaining traction.
"There are a growing number of projects across B.C. led by Indigenous governments, the provincial government and local communities that are putting fire back on the land. This is cause for optimism,” he said.
When communities take steps to reduce risks from wildfire, such as engaging in FireSmart projects, with the right conditions some wildfires could be allowed to continue and accomplish important ecological work.
In their report, the authors recommend four opportunities for action to advance beneficial fire as part of a whole-of-society strategy to promote wildfire resilience in B.C., in particular they highlighted a need for better information and awareness about the benefits of fire, which in turn could help communities make more informed decisions when dealing with fires and assessing their risks and benefits.
“Ultimately, it’s communities that evaluate and manage risk and trade-offs to determine what kinds of fire are beneficial, so strong place-based governance is a priority,” said Andrea Barnett, report co-author and project facilitator and analyst at the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project.
“Through place-based planning and decision-making, communities can become more wildfire resilient. They can assess to decide where and when to promote more beneficial fire or continue to suppress fires that have unacceptable risk.”
