Mitigation is the phase of emergency management in which proactive steps are taken to prevent a hazardous event from occurring by eliminating the hazard, or to reduce the potential impact of such an event before it occurs. The goal of these efforts – as with all other emergency management activities – is to protect lives, property, and the environment, and to reduce economic and social disruption. In the context of climate change, mitigation is referred to as “adaptation,” an adjustment made to a changing environment and actions taken to prepare for the occurrence.
GVFD Restrictions
The GVFD has the authority to restrict people’s activities. They do this through the Improvement District Bylaw 102.
These restrictions are largely a repeat of the provincial restrictions, which I assume are founded on some kind of research. Additional restrictions like scything came out of the rational that if the metal blade strikes a rock, it could cause a spark which could result in a fire. I find that rational laughable. I challenge any supporters of this restriction to take a scythe and a rock and go start a fire with that. Of course, this is just a pet peeve of mine, as who really cares if one can’t scythe during shutdown. I would be surprised if more than a hundred islanders have ever picked up a scythe, let alone used one on a regular basis. The thing is, mitigation efforts and restrictions need to be guided by hazard and risk analysis, so that one can be reasonably confident that one’s efforts actually make a difference. If not, what the heck are you doing? I bet we are the only community on this planet with a scything restriction based on fire threat. This isn’t going to benefit us as a community, it is just something that popped into the Chief’s head. My expectations for emergency management are a whole lot higher than that. I understand the need for fire restrictions and support them, but they need to be founded on evidence based science.
FireSmart
FireSmart is a national program that develops resources and programs to help Canadians increase resilience to wildfire.
British Columbia has a provincial FireSmart program that has been developed from the national program.
The BC Provincial Government is encouraging local governments to implement FireSmart programs with the CRI program, administered by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM).
In 2021 there was a one time funding opportunity to improvement districts through the CRI for economic recovery stemming from COVID. The GFPID received about $50K from this and became quite active in the community in regards to FireSmart. They have had a strong presence at the Saturday market. They have and continue to do FireSmart home assessments. They have provided a number of waste disposal bins to remove yard waste and fuel from people’s properties. The $50K has been spent, so it will be interesting to see what the level of FireSmart programming the GVFD does going forward.
Pages 63-65 of the Electoral Area B CWRP eloquently describes the potential RDN FireSmart activities.
We need to talk a lot more about FireSmart. We need to figure out how to be resilient to fire sweeping through our communities. I think it is achievable, but it is going to take an effort and it is going to take some time. Stay tuned, I have plenty more to say.
Fuel Management Prescription for the 707
This mitigation effort came directly out of the Electoral Area B CWRP. It is on pause right now, I think they are waiting for funding from the CRI program. Expect this to be an issue in the coming years.