Leadership in Wildfire Risk Reduction

In late July, Erik Leslie dealt with a two-hectare fire that was started by a lightning strike.  “When things start to dry, if fires get beyond a hectare, they can be hard to put out if you don’t have good access. It was in pretty remote, difficult terrain; that was our concern,” says Leslie. “BC wildfire service dropped a bunch of loads of retardant on it from an airplane and started bucketing water and helicoptering in crews.”  According to Leslie, the recent fire was stressful but nothing new.  “…In 2017 we had a big fire that burned about 3000 hectares….I hung ribbons with the wildfire crews on the fire and liaised with the community.”  …For him, the recent videos put out by the cooperative are communicating a crucial message.  “We tried to make educational videos about climate change and community wildfire protection that were story-based where you get to know the characters and get a feel for the community.”