Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources:
Community Wildfire Protection Plan Program Evaluation
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Strengthening Community Wildfire Resilience in Ontario
The Province of Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources retained Blackwell Consulting Ltd. to undertake a comprehensive review of its Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) program, which provides funding and guidance for communities seeking to implement wildfire mitigation initiatives. The review focused on modernizing the program by aligning it with community wildfire resiliency practices from jurisdictions across British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, and California, and identifing areas for improvement.
Wildfire Impacts Are Increasing Across the Wildland–Urban Interface
Addressing a Growing Risk Landscape
Across North America, increasingly severe wildfire seasons in recent decades have resulted in greater structural losses and damage within the wildland–urban interface (WUI). These issues are expected to intensify as climate change contributes to more frequent wildfires and larger areas burned.
Fortunately, research and understanding of effective wildfire mitigation activities have evolved. In several regions across the country, established programs are now in place to support communities in taking proactive measures to reduce wildfire risk. Because most of these programs are implemented at the provincial or state level, there are considerable differences in available programming and funding. Where programs have been established, administrators have developed best practices and learned valuable lessons from their implementation.
Enhancing Ontario’s Community Wildfire Protection Planning
Ontario’s CWPP program remains relatively new and underutilized. As wildfire impacts to communities increase, there is a clear need for a more robust, accessible, and risk-based approach to community wildfire risk reduction.
The Province sought guidance on how to strengthen the program to increase uptake, improve outcomes, and better support communities facing elevated wildfire risk.
Project Objective
The objective of this project was to provide the Ministry with evidence-based recommendations to enhance Ontario’s CWPP program. This was achieved through a comparative assessment of wildfire mitigation initiatives in leading jurisdictions, with a particular focus on British Columbia given its established alignment with FireSmart Canada principles.
Evidence-Based Methodology
Blackwell conducted a qualitative comparative assessment of wildfire mitigation programs across five jurisdictions: British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, and California.
References reviewed in this analysis included:
- Programming documents such as templates and guidebooks
- Web-based tools, spatial data, and risk-assessment methodologies completed by authorities
- Sample wildfire protection plans from each jurisdiction
Key program components and best practices were identified and assessed against Ontario’s current approach, and recommendations were made for how they could be incorporated.
Key Themes and Findings
The literature review highlighted several consistent themes across leading programs:
- Standardized planning frameworks enable clear communication of risk and actionable strategies.
- Quantifiable methods to identify high-risk communities are important to effectively allocate funding.
- Adequate, risk-based allocation of funding improves equity and effectiveness of programming.
- Access to public data and tools strengthens community and professional decision-making capacity.
Outcomes and Recommendations
Practical Steps to Modernize the CWPP Program:
- Establishing the role of qualified professionals in community wildfire risk-reduction planning and supporting professionals in strengthening this scope of practice.
- Developing a standardized wildfire threat-assessment tool to quantify stand-level wildfire threat.
- Creating a provincial risk-classification framework to prioritize CWPP development.
- Increasing base funding for both CWPP development and the implementation of plan recommendations.
- Allocating funding to communities based on their identified level of wildfire risk.
- Upgrading and enhancing provincially managed data, tools, and resources.
Impact
The assessment provides Ontario with actionable steps to mature and modernize its CWPP program. By applying lessons learned from other jurisdictions, the Province can strengthen support for communities, increase participation, and improve the quality and effectiveness of wildfire protection planning across Ontario.
Conclusion
Blackwell’s report to Ontario demonstrates the value of a qualitative literature analysis and professional expertise in developing informed and actionable strategies for program improvement. The resulting recommendations position Ontario to implement a more effective and resilient approach to community wildfire risk reduction.
