The City of Prince George has taken steps to reduce the risks of wildfire to the community, but there would likely be little protection from the kind of severe fire that partially destroyed the community of Slave Lake, Alta.
During the weekend, winds gusting up to 100 kilometres an hour pushed wildfire into the Alberta community, destroying nearly one third of the town of 7,000, including the municipal building, library and many homes. Thousands of people had to flee their homes.
"There is always the risk you are never going to fire proof any community completely -- no matter how much money you put into it -- from 100-kilometre winds," said Prince George Fire Centre manager Warren Burkinshaw.
There are ways, however, to minimize the risks, which is what Prince George is doing with their fuel management work, observed Burkinshaw.
One of the concerns for communities in north-central B.C. is the impact of the mountain pine beetle epidemic which can heighten the fire risk when it's hot, dry and windy. The beetle epidemic has killed large swathes of lodgepole pine in the region. Burkinshaw noted the moisture has been driven out of the dead pine trees left in the wake of the beetle epidemic. "It's good fire wood," he said. "It will burn hotter and throw more sparks, because all the bark is loose, than green wood."
Since 2005, the city has leveraged $1 million of its own money with another $6.5 million from other sources, including the province, to treat about 500 hectares of timber to reduce the fire risk.
That has involved removing pine beetle-killed trees, thinning timber stands and removing fuel on the ground such as branches.
The city has targeted areas of highest risk both on city property and Crown land within the city. Removing timber from Crown land was made possible through a community forest licence awarded to the city by the province.
There is still some work to do on the highest-risk areas, but city environment manager Dan Adamson expects that work to be complete this year. He says the city should be be able to tap into a renewed $25-million fire risk-reduction fund from the province.
Adamson said he believes the work has reduced the threat.
"We have to be really clear with people that it doesn't mean there's not going to be fire in these places, but what it does, is it takes the fire down to the ground, which makes it easier for the crews to suppress the fire," he explained.
Adamson added he is still concerned about fires outside of Prince George.
That's a concern shared by others, including First Nations, who believe their often remote communities are susceptible to wildfire.
Fraser-Fort George Regional District official Terry McEachen said they are working on a plan to reduce wildfire risks in the agricultural reserve. Work has also been done on Bear Lake, a community north of Prince George, and homeowners in rural areas are encouraged to fire-smart their homes, he said.
Fires cut a wide swath through north and central B.C. last year, burning more than 300,000 hectares.
While the fire hot zone was located in the Southern Interior in 2009, in 2010 it moved farther north, fuelled by extremely dry conditions in the beetle-killed pine forests in this region.
Prince George was not threatened by wildfires last year. The closest fires were 70 kilometres to the southwest. However, the region did experience aggressive fire behaviour. The Binta Lake fire more than tripled in size in one day, advancing 17.5 kilometres overnight.
Although the spring has been cool and there is a higher than normal snow pack in many areas of the Interior, Environment Canada has forecasted a warmer and slightly drier than normal July and August.
