British Columbia is experiencing its worst wildfire season on record and some experts say part of the solution is more 鈥減rescribed burning.鈥�
Lori Daniels, a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, says that forest fires are a 鈥渃ritical part of the ecosystem鈥� and the province鈥檚 current strategy to fight as many blazes as possible can make things worse.
That鈥檚 because putting out fires that aren鈥檛 threatening homes leaves them full of dry, dead material that makes later fires spread even faster and further.
鈥淲hen we remove fire from the landscape, we make the forest more uniform and susceptible to fast-moving fires that are hard to contain,鈥� Daniels says.
Dan Perrakis and Steve Taylor of Natural Resources Canada say that, in the long run, it would be better to do more 鈥減rescribed burns鈥� in rural areas.
Daniels agrees, saying that would also save B.C. taxpayers money. 鈥淲e鈥檝e spent $1.8 billion over the last decade fighting fires and $78 million to try to apply these well-known techniques.鈥�
The B.C. government has said it鈥檚 open to exploring new forest management strategies, but its focus for now is on protecting communities.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Bureau Chief Melanie Nagy
