British Columbia is introducing new technology to enhance wildfire prediction and decision-making while the association representing Canadian insurance companies warns residents about the potential for another destructive fire season.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada issued a statement urging residents to get ready for challenging months ahead following the worst-ever wildfire season that destroyed hundreds of homes last year.
The B.C. Wildfire Service map shows a number of small blazes that started in the last few days due to above-normal temperatures in the province, while nearly 100 active wildfires from last year are still burning.
In an effort to address worsening fire seasons, the B.C. government states it’s launching predictive software to provide decision-makers with more information, faster.
The Forests Ministry reports that the addition of the technology follows successful trials of the software in the Coastal and Kamloops fire centres last year, and it will be rolled out to the rest of the province throughout this year.
It explains that the software uses existing maps and weather models and information about forest fuels, then enables B.C. Wildfire Service personnel to share their field observations to assist with real-time decision-making.
Forests Minister Bruce Ralston emphasizes the importance of making critical decisions faster in the fight against wildfires, and believes the technology will help officials achieve this.
Greg Boyachuk, senior wildfire officer of operations for the Coastal Fire Centre, notes the benefits of the software when lightning strikes caused over 100 new blazes in four days last August.
He explains that a fire behaviour specialist used the software to assess the new fires, creating forecasts for how much they would spread over the next 12 hours.
He states that this allowed them to identify which wildfires were a priority for initial attack resources based on their potential to spread and threaten communities.
He expresses his excitement about the broader use of this technology and looks forward to further learning as an operational decision-maker.
Boyachuk mentions that the software took 15 minutes to generate the predictions, compared with a previous manual process that could take several hours.
The decision to adopt the technology is in line with feedback from B.C.’s expert task force on emergencies, the statement says.
Efforts with jurisdictions using similar technologies, such as California and Australia, have allowed the B.C. Wildfire Service to quickly expand the use of the software.
Check back for updates.
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