Forest Fire Science and Technology Program

1. Forest Fire Science and Technology Program Northern Forestry Centre

2. Presentation Outline • Forest Fires in Canada • 2. CFS Fire research • Background • Current thrusts • 3. National Fire Analysis Initiative • 4. Questions

3. Wildfires are a natural component of most of Canada’s forest ecosystems • Ecological benefits • ecosystem health • forest productivity • biodiversity • Socio-economic impacts • Safety (life and property) • Health (air and water quality) • Economic competitiveness • (timber supply and other • natural resources)

4. Fires larger than 200 ha - 1980-89 Canada is a Forest (Fire) Nation • Vital Statistics • Number of fires = 8500 fires/yr • Area burned = 2.5 million ha/yr (range0.3M-7.5M/yr) • Large fires dominate landscape (3% > 200 ha = 97% area burned and 80% of cost) • Fire management expenditures = $500M-900M/year in Canada • Federal Interests • Safety of Canadians (e.g., BC Wildfires 2003 -38 communities at risk; 300+ homes lost; 30,000+ residents evacuated; personal property damage > $100 M) • Aboriginal communities • Federal lands (Parks, DND) • International issues (climate change, biodiversity, trans-border smoke) • Federal-provincial-municipal relations • Efficiency of federal expenditures (request for disaster relief from BC could exceed $200 M) Recent Wildland-Urban Interface Fires in Canada

5. CFS – NoFC Fire Research Background • Federal government fought fires until 1930s • Federal forest fire research has been continuous since 1925 – integral to Canada’s becoming a world leader in fire suppression • Major focus on national Fire Danger Rating System (used across Canada and adapted internationally (NZ, Alaska, Mexico, SE Asia) • Current fire science themes are fire dynamics, fire ecology, fire management systems, and fire & global change

6. CFS – NoFC Fire Research Relevance to Government / Departmental Issues • Safety of Canadians • National daily monitoring and reporting of forest fire conditions in Canada (web site) • FireSmart – protecting communities from wildfire (collaborative with other levels of government) • Climate change • What is the contribution of fire to GHG emissions in Canada? • Are Canada’s forests a sink or a source? • What are the potential impacts of climate change on fire activity? • What can be done to adapt to climate change? • Sustainable Development - Risk Analysis / Management Tools & Techniques • Fire growth modeling, fire occurrence prediction models, fuels management strategies

7. Canadians and Wildland Fire: A Shared Risk NRCan-CFS is leading a national analysis of wildfire management in Canada resulting in the production of a Green or White Paper • Purpose – in cooperation with provincial / territorial (and local) governments, examine and develop options to reduce the risk from wildfire to Canadians • Elements of the analysis and discussion paper would include: • Adequacy of current policies • Detailed assessment of risk trends to Canadians • Condition of the current infrastructure • Economics of wildfire management • Evaluation of other risk management and hazard mitigation models • Options for improvement

8. Canadians and Wildland Fire: A Shared Risk Shifting the Paradigm Suppression (response) Hazard Management (mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery) • Moving Forward – Phased Approach • Preliminary discussions with other federal departments • Assemble background information on state of the current policies, infrastructure, and science • Engage in a dialogue with provinces and territories (CCFM DMs meeting in June) • Expand discussions to include municipalities and industries • Complete analysis and produce discussion paper • Facilitate national discussion

9. Questions/ Discussion