A sequel to the fires that devastated parts of British Columbia last summer is likely unless action is taken, a report into the disaster warned Friday.
The report — prepared by a task force headed by former Manitoba premier Gary Filmon — argues that the window is short to implement reforms, and that the government should act while the memory of the destruction is still clear in British Columbians' minds.
"The devastation of firestorm 2003 is fresh in the public's mind and the costs and consequences of various choices are well understood," the report says.
- See also: Summary of the report's recommendations
Three pilots died trying to fight the flames, which caused damage estimated at $700-million.
The report warns that British Columbians can "consider themselves fortunate" that the blazes were not worse and said that the province should prepare for more of the same if reforms are not carried out.
"All the information I can get from climatologists and Environment Canada and others suggests that there's more to come, in terms of hot dry summers," Mr. Filmon told globeandmail.com from Victoria.
"The danger certainly remains. If you had the same conditions some time in the next few years as you had this year you would have the potential for just as serious a conflagration as you had this year."
The report says that the interface fires were spurred along by the amount of dry wood near communities, which it said should be destroyed by controlled burns and through incentives given to loggers. Mr. Filmon explained that this wood has been building up for decades in most of the province, allowed by inaction and environmental opposition to accumulate to dangerous levels.
"People like to live in commune with the environment, with nature. They like to be close to the forests. But I'm not sure people were as much aware of the risks that they faced being right up against the forest," he said.
"People just simply became complacent and felt 'wasn't this wonderful, we're building up and living right in the midst of the forest and its a wonderful environment.' But it is also a hazardous environment."
He acknowledged that controlled burns and selective logging to clear out fuel may be unpopular, but said that each community will simply have to make a "value choice" -- deciding how it wants to balance environmental protection with homeowner safety.
"Obviously, it has to be done with great sensitivity to environmental health and fire hazard concerns, but it must be done," he said earlier Friday as he delivered the report to the B.C. government.
The report also notes that such clearing is far less controversial now, in the wake of the fires that showed the public the danger of the status quo. "Simply put, almost everyone who gave advice to the review team agreed that it was better to accept short-term inconvenience and irritation in favour of long-term reduction in hazard and cost."
Mr. Filmon's task force was mandated with evaluating emergency response and making recommendations for improvement in time for the next fire season. The product of hundreds of interviews, the final report includes a stark warning to the parts of the province that escaped damage last year.
"Few communities in the province would have been immune from an interface fire, given the extreme danger ratings over the course of the summer. Without action, the danger remains."
