Community Wildfire Protection Plans
Here in British Columbia where we have seen extensive wildfire damage, it is important to prevent the spread of fire into communities. The Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative (SWPI) is a suite of funding programs administered by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and managed through the Provincial Management Working Group. Since 2004, the initiative has supported communities to mitigate risk from wildfire in the wildland urban interface through Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
What is a Community Wildfire Protection Plan?
A CWPP assesses the risk of wildfire around the community and recommends mitigation activities to improve community safety.
Our Recent Work
Robin B Clark Inc has completed many CWPPs throughout BC. One of our most recent CWPPs is for Yale First Nation.
Yale First Nation Reserves are exclusively in the Coastal Western Hemlock zone (CWH). The severe ice storm which passed through Yale in March 2014, brought a large number of trees down. These fallen trees significantly contribute to forest floor fuel, increasing the risk of fire spread to the community. To assess the Wildfire Threat as it pertains to the safety of the Yale First Nation, the WUI Threat Rating system is used. The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Wildfire Threat Rating System is a set of guides used to determine wildfire threat in forested areas. This system is composed of four components: fuel, weather, topography, and structural. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations – Wildfire Management Branch (WMB) endorses the threat assessment worksheet and guide as the recognized standard for wildland urban interface wildfire threat assessments in B.C.
Last week, Robin and Micha enjoyed walking through the forest around Yale First Nation to add additional plots for the CWPP. It was a lovely day to spend outdoors, as you can see from some of the photos below. We really enjoy this rewarding work of helping protect communities from wildfire while spending time outdoors on days like this.
