Officials hope wildfire mitigation project will allow smooth evacuation for remote B.C. community

Residents of a small northern B.C. community served by only one major road are hoping that a provincial wildfire mitigation initiative will ensure they won't be stranded if a big fire hits the area.

The District of Mackenzie, about 180 kilometres north of Prince George, is working on a multi-year project to remove ladder fuels along Highway 39, funded in part with a $1-million grant from the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C., as well as ongoing funds from the McLeod Lake Mackenzie Community Forest. 

Ladder fuels are highly flammable living or dead vegetation that allow fire to climb up from the forest floor to the tree canopies. Removal of these fuels along a road could help control the spread of flames, making fire evacuation safer and smoother.

Some flammable coniferous trees have been cut down, and more fire-resistant deciduous trees are being encouraged  between the thinned-out conifers in a total of 3.4 square kilometres of land. The project spans 300 metres on either side of the approximately 35-kilometre highway.

The Forest Enhancement Society's executive director Steve Kozuki said Mackenzie residents have been worried about what would happen if a wildfire converges on their town, as has happened in other one-road-in, one-road-out communities, such as Fort McMurray, Alta.

"If a fire came into the community, in the case of Mackenzie, they only had one way out," said Kozuki. "That was a great concern from a safety perspective — not only for the residents to potentially evacuate the community if it was needed, but also for emergency services to come into the community."

In 2016, the Horse River Wildfire destroyed 2,400 structures and displaced more than 80,000 people in Fort McMurray — served by only Highway 63 — making it one of the costliest insured events in Canadian history. 

Ian LeBlanc, wildfire project coordinator for the District of Mackenzie, says the devastating blaze in Fort McMurray was constantly on his mind when he drove through the thick forests along Highway 39.

"It was always something that's kind of in the back of your mind," LeBlanc said. "We have significant forests on either side of the highway and you feel like the potential is there in a high fire season. You wouldn't want to be driving through there in the event of a wildfire."

LeBlanc said it was important to space out the coniferous trees to prevent the formation of a continuous canopy between them. 

"Once it [the fire] is up in the crowns and rolling along there, it's extremely hard if not impossible for fire crews to be effective on that," he said. 

The district says the fuel management project has helped to train several Mackenzie residents to do wildfire mitigation.

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