Forest Fire Management

Forest Fire at Night

Strategic Risk Assessment

B.A. Blackwell and Associates Ltd. is at the forefront of BC forest fire risk assessment, on both a large and small scale. We helped develop the Provincial Strategic Threat Analysis and have expanded its application within various regions. Our Wildfire Risk Management System provides wildfire threat rating based on the probability of fire versus the severity of consequences. This system has been applied by local and regional governments, BC Parks, forest companies in BC and Alberta, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Alaska.  We have developed leading-edge applications to map and classify fuel types, historic natural fire regimes, and changes in fuel conditions associated with the effects of fire suppression and changes in forest health.

Forest Fire hazard assessment

We apply fire hazard assessments at the local and regional levels to identify forest stand conditions that present a forest fire spotting risk (burning embers lofted ahead of a fire front) or a conduction risk to homes and important infrastructure.

Managing fire

Forest Fire behaviour modeling

We utilize a range of current fire growth and fire behaviour models to identify hazardous fuels on the landscape and to determine where fuel treatments can be strategically located to reduce landscape-level fire risk. Models used include the Canadian Fire Behaviour Prediction System, Prometheus Fire Growth Model, US Behave Plus, FARSITE, and FlamMap.

Fuel management

We assess fuel hazards, develop and implement plans and prescriptions to reduce fuel load and wildfire risk for communities, important facilities, utility corridors, and other critical resource values such as watersheds and wildlife habitat.

Fire history

We conduct fire history studies to assess changes in stand dynamics, impacts of wildfire suppression, and improved understanding of the topographic effects of wildfire behaviour. These studies have been applied to the development of fire and fuel management plans and prescribed burn plans for a range of ecosystems and fuel types.

burnt forest

Forest Fire ecology

We apply our knowledge of fire ecology in both coastal and interior ecosystems of British Columbia to the management of watersheds, and to our understanding of forest succession and forest health. This expertise also provides the foundation for developing proper plans and prescriptions that take into account fire effects on ecosystems.

Wildfire prevention planning

Our understanding of fire-related policy and legislation, including the Wildfire Act, gives us the ability to advise and design programs and plans to limit the liability and impacts of wildfires. We have worked with individual clients and diverse stakeholders to develop industry-recognized practice standards, definitions of fire risk and fuel hazards, and plans for appropriate levels of fire response.

Operational Wildfire Protection Plans

Community wildfire protection planning

We have completed community wildfire protection plans for over 20 municipalities and five regional districts in BC. These plans have incorporated strategies around communication, education and training, policy, emergency response, fuel management and post-fire rehabilitation. We use a FireSmart Structure Protection system to assist in the design of subdivisions and communities. This involves creating specific plans and prescriptions to reduce the risk of wildfire.

Community Wildfire Protection Plans

Prescribed burn planning

We have developed numerous prescribed burn plans for the purposes of forest restoration, fuel management, wildlife management, and community protection.

Prescribed Burn Plans

Policy development

B.A. Blackwell and Associates was contracted by Gary Filmon (former Premier of Manitoba) to provide written recommendations for the 2003 Firestorm Provincial Review. These recommendations have helped to guide the development of fire policy in BC since 2003.  The Association of BC Professional Foresters and the Forest Practices Board of BC have also utilized our services to develop policy on forest fire and fuel management-related issues

Fire Management Plans

Forest Fire Conferences

B.C. Wildfire Conference 2004: Wildland Urban Interface Fire in the New Era
Whistler Conference Centre
Whistler, British Columbia, CANADA
May 11, 12, 13, 2004