Living in and alongside an urban forest brings a lot of positives. One of the negatives is the potential for fires. Over the years I have lived on campus there have been the occasional woodland fire. In summer 2021 a 150m fire broke out on the hill side of Pacific Spirit Park. In 2018 there was a fire that burned a large tree near an informal camp site. Last Friday morning (Oct. 7, 2022) Vancouver Fire Department responded to a small brush fire near the artificial eagle nest in Wesbrook Place. It appears a campfire was the cause.
We live in a temperate rainforest. So one might think woodland fires are rare. They normally are in October. However, a 2016 Climate Change report by Metro Vancouver says annual temperatures are rising, rainy periods are shifting to shorter more intense events, and summer/fall is becoming dryer. All this intensifies woodland fire risk for urban forest dwellers extending fire risk over a longer period of the year.
The UNA, which manages, on behalf of UBC, the non-institutional residential areas has no specific fire protection authority. Instead, UBC has a longstanding contract with the Vancouver Fire Department to provide fire services in the UBC area. The UNA shares this tidbit of advice on their web pages in regard Forest Fires.
In response to my question on the UNA’s thoughts on how to be mindful of woodland fire hazards, Sundance Topham, the UNA’s Chief Administrative Officer, had this to share:
As with most things up here on campus we [UNA] play a unique role when it comes to woodland fire hazards/emergency planning, etc…
From an Emergency Planning process, we work closely with UBC (who provides Emergency Planning for the UNA neighbourhoods), and in our interactions with Safety and Risk Services personnel we talk about interface fires and evacuation response, communications, etc… These conversations are ongoing, but there is a system in place for opening an Emergency Operations Centre and receiving UBC assistance.
Fire protection is provided under contract with the City of Vancouver for the UNA neighbourhoods.
From a planning perspective, UBC takes the lead on that, including the designs of the neighbourhoods/trail systems in any interface fire zones. My understanding is that one of the reasons they built the taller towers on the areas adjacent to Pacific Spirit Park on Binning Road, was partly due to fire smart building principles.
From an operational perspective we have placed “no smoking” signage on the trails adjacent to forested areas, and we liaise with Metro Parks, UBC Fire, and any other agencies as required.
Concerns in the residential neighbourhoods have percolated up from time to time. In 2016 The Campus Resident published a piece about fire safety and Pacific Spirit Park. The article notes “Metro Vancouver staff removed a considerable amount of dead or dying vegetation in the are of Hamptom Place to reduce the overall fuel load.” What is not mentioned in the piece is that Metro’s action was in response to a campaign organized by Hamptom Place residents for fire mitigation practices. Metro’s normal approach is to leave dead trees and branches in place as part of a ecological principle designed to minimize human intervention into ‘natural’ spaces. After the blow down of timber last winter, trees were not removed, but simply cut up, shifted off of the trails into piles of drying piles of wood. The idea behind this is one the prioritizes a particular conception of ‘naturalness,’ sometimes called ‘rewilding’ or ‘naturalizaton.’ Planning at UBC is also influenced by this idea.
UBC runs a number of on campus risk mitigation programs, most of those publicly visible are educational. As the UNA’s Topham noted, UBC does provides emergency planning for the UNA neighbourhoods and has a system in place in the event a significant fire crisis.
Neither UBC nor the UNA has the capacity for fire suppression, that is the responsibly of the Vancouver Fire Department. There is a fire station on campus that ensures times to respond to calls are normally very quick.
In response to my request for comment on woodland fire safety, Matthew Ramsey, Director of University Affairs, said:
With current and ongoing dry conditions we would ask that students, faculty and staff be extra careful in wooded areas on campus.
Recent small brush fires are a reminder of how important it is to safely and correctly dispose of smoking materials and refuse.
We continue to work with Environment Canada and Metro Vancouver Parks to notify of fire conditions through signage on roads to campus.
Of course, anyone who sees a fire should call 911 immediately.
On the campus there are about 40 soft landscape employees who monitor for risk, prune trees, remove dead limbs and clear out leaves, dead plants etc. As there is a level 5 drought, watering is restricted.
Friday morning’s fire was a gentle warning that climate change brings greater hazards. Thankfully there were enough people around to spot the blaze in time to safely extinguish it. UBC and UNA safety plans are important, but being safe in our neighbourhoods also involves us being mindful about what is involved in living with an urban forest.