Facing Fire is made possible with funding from STORYHIVE and is available for free or on TELUS Optik TV September 2019.
Will we manage fire or will fire manage us?
It’s not a matter of if fire occurs -- it’s a matter of when.
Fire is an essential evolutionary force on our planet.
The question is, Will we manage fire or will fire manage us?
Can we Change?
We've convinced ourselves in North America for over 100 years that we've know best how to deal with wildfire. The policy of "the only good wildfire is one that isn't burning" has built up exponential fuel loads in our forests. We've built our communities into fire habitat and now have to face the situation we've created. Will we change our mindset to work with nature and wildfire, or continue to fight against them?
History of Wildfire
How did we get here?
Wildfire is an evolutionary force, and has co-evolved with plants, animals and fungi around the world. North American First Nations worked with fire clearing areas with prescribed burns. Colonization brought new people and new ideas, including that no wildfire was a good wildfire. What's the legacy of turning away from nature's patterns and adopting a mindset that "humans know best"?
Wildfire Today
Where are we now?
The 2018 wildfire season made records for number of fires, intensity of fires, and damage and expense to extinguish wildfires. An extended wildfire season, increased temperatures and more lightning have resulted in a hotbed of activity. Over 100 years of fuel build up has created a situation where it's not a matter of if a wildfire will burn, but only a matter of when.
Solutions
What can we do about it?
Nature bats first and last. Ecological patterns, fire regimes and natural cycles continue with or without our blessing. It's time to change our mindset and acknowledge North America is a fire ecology. Prescription burns, improved ecological understanding and decision making to allow fires that pose low risk to human settlements are a good start to building our fire resiliency. Developing FireSmart homes and communities can help us to acknowledge and work with nature, but that's only the beginning. We have to re-integrate natural patterns of a diverse and wet landscape that are resistant to and recovery quickly from fire, if we not only want to survive but thrive in a land of fire.
Will we manage fire or will fire manage us?
It’s not a matter of if fire occurs, it’s a matter of when.
Fire is an essential evolutionary force on our planet.
The question is, Will we manage fire or will fire manage us?
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