BANFF – Banff’s elected officials are keen to look at extra tactics to better protect the townsite from future wildfire in the wake of an alarming record-breaking fire season in Canada.
Council has directed administration to bring to service review deliberations later this year broad-based funding tactics, including options on where enhancements could be made to address climate resiliency.
Coun. Chip Olver said the intent is to help the community of Banff better prepare and respond to the increased frequency, duration and severity of weather events due to climate change.
“We know that many communities in the last few years and in recent weeks have faced things like fire evacuations, flooding and poor air quality,” she said.
Olver referred to statements made by West Kelowna’s fire chief Jason Brolund during a climate change message to the United Nations in New York in September following the McDougall Creek fire that burned 140 square kilometres in the Kelowna region of British Columbia’s Okanagan.
At the conference, Brolund said firefighters are dealing with fires on “a scope and scale that’s nearly impossible for us to be successful against.”
“Over $20 million was spent reacting to my fire, not to mention the insurance losses, which could be triple that,” he said during the conference.
“What could we have accomplished if we used that same amount of money proactively? We’re spending the money on the wrong end of the problem.”
Brolund’s frank words resonated strongly with Olver.
“I think any community that’s had to deal with an evacuation or deal with an unusual event is doing an analysis afterwards, saying if only we had done this beforehand, and my intent with this motion is to discover what Banff’s ‘this’ is,” she said.
“It may be things that are already in our capital budget, or in future plans, or it may be new things to add, and I think it’s time for us to do this.”
As well as the Town of Banff’s FireSmart work and incentive programs, such as rooftop sprinkler systems, Parks Canada also does fire protection work on neighbouring national park lands, including logging large-scale fireguards as well as prescribed fires that not only have environmental benefits – including for wildlife – but would also make it easier to fight a future wildfire.
A large swath of land was logged to create a 33-hectare fireguard near Protection Mountain last winter, while a 49-hectare fireguard, about one kilometre long and 400 to 500 metres wide, will be created this winter northwest of Lake Louise.
However, two previously planned prescribed fires for the Bow Valley this fall have been put on hold – a large-scale fire in a 4,469-hectare area on Fairholme benchlands between Banff and Canmore and another small one in Compound Meadows immediately adjacent to the Banff townsite.
Parks Canada’s firefighters have been stretched to the limit with the record-breaking fire season throughout Canada, and the federal agency is also sensitive to the political fallout from the prescribed fire that got out of control near the Banff townsite in May, burning about three hectares.
Officials say Parks Canada crews have been working tirelessly to protect communities and infrastructure across the country, with many of the Banff fire crews called upon to support fire operations in other areas.
“With current operational pressures in the national park, it has been decided that prescribed fires planned for this fall in Banff have been put on hold,” said Alexandria Jones, a spokesperson for Banff National Park.
“Operations will resume in the spring, as conditions allow.”
So far in 2023, Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay national parks have sent 70 personnel to help with the wildfire response in Wood Buffalo National Park. Positions vary from fire crews, logistics, finance, operations and planning to incident command.
Jones said the three parks have also contributed seven personnel to B.C., Alberta, and the Northwest Territories through Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) deployments outside of national parks.
“Invaluable experience and skills are built during deployments and this expertise is then brought back to home parks,” said Jones.
Fuelled by record high temperatures and widespread drought conditions across the country, more than 6,100 fires burned a record-breaking 17.5 million hectares this year.
To put that in perspective, that’s an area larger than Greece and more than double the 1989 record. Normally, an average of 2.5 million hectares of land are burned in Canada every year.
Unlike previous years, the fires this year were widespread, from the West Coast to the Atlantic provinces, and the North. By mid-July, there were 29 mega-fires, each exceeding 100,000 hectares.
“The word ‘unprecedented’ doesn’t do justice to the severity of the wildfires in Canada this year,” said Yan Boulanger, research scientist in forest ecology at Natural Resources Canada in a statement.
“From a scientific perspective, the doubling of the previous burned area record is shocking.”
So far this year, there have been 25 wildfires in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks, burning a total of 346.5 hectares – of which 307 hectares are attributed to the lightning-sparked Mitchell Ridge wildfire in Kootenay National Park.
“This is a highly active wildfire season for Canada, including on the lands that Parks Canada manages,” Jones said.
“Parks Canada does extensive planning and preparation to ensure we are prepared to respond to any potential issues or wildfires at Parks Canada administered places that may occur throughout the year. “
In Banff National Park, between August 3 and Sept. 15, there were three illegal campfires and one lightning caused wildfire at Castle Mountain.
“All fires were actioned and extinguished shortly after discovery by Parks Canada fire crew members,” said Jones.
“We urge members of the public to help first responders by reporting all suspicious smoke and flame, and by only using the provided metal fire rings to have a campfire," she said, adding the number to call is Banff National Park dispatch at 403-762-4506.
Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno said wildfire is certainly top of mind for Banff residents and council coming out of the unrelenting wildfire season.
“This is something that we're taking very seriously and we want to ensure that the Town of Banff is doing all that we can to be prepared if something like this were to happen in our community,” she said.
While the prescribed fires are off the table for this fall, the mayor also spoke to other work done by Parks Canada to protect communities, such as the massive fireguard near Protection Mountain between Banff and Lake Louise last winter, and the new Ross Lake fireguard this winter.
“Obviously, fire doesn't know where a border is, so we’re very lucky to have Parks Canada as the agency who manages that,” she said.
“Any efforts that they are doing to help prevent wildfire coming into the townsite is a welcome move and we are grateful for the mitigations that they are undertaking.”
