A plume of smoke rises as the Jasper Complex Wildfire continues to burn in Jasper National Park in Alberta on Aug. 14.L Neufeld/Parks Canada/Reuters
Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson is a policy adviser with the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. She is a Métis woman from Treaty 8 territory and a research scientist with expertise in Indigenous fire stewardship and Indigenous wildland firefighters.
As fall wildfires burn, Canada is on track to record the second-largest wildfire season in 20 years. From the heartbreak of the Jasper, Alta., fire to the waves of smoke stretching from Kelowna, B.C., to Montreal, this year confirms that wildfire is now a perennial, and costly, national crisis.
No single solution will relieve us of this challenge, but there are tools that will help forests, communities and budgets become more resilient. Some of those tools are hiding in plain sight – they just have to be activated.
Indigenous and Western sciences tell us that responding to wildfires quickly reduces the risk of out-of-control burns. Government fire agencies try to extinguish new fires by 10 a.m. the next day, and often achieve it near populated areas where they have resources, but it’s difficult to do so in remote areas. Once wildfires reach a certain size, they become difficult and expensive to control, often spurring evacuations. Over the past four decades, displacement from wildfires has cost Canada about $4.6-billion. And that’s just the price of moving people – not fighting fire.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Many First Nations have local crews trained to fight fires. But too often, they aren’t allowed to join the response effort. Firefighting requires preparation, and agency regulations are intended to promote safety, yet they can also undervalue Indigenous and local expertise.
In the face of climate change, we need more local, well-equipped people on the fire line, not fewer.
This August, when a fire emerged near the midway point of the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, Prince Albert Grand Council (representing 12 local First Nation band governments) tried to deploy about 300 trained firefighters. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency refused to activate them; Peter Ballantyne First Nation said it was because they didn’t have personal protective equipment (PPE) – the cost would have been approximately $150,000. The fire went unchecked for four weeks until the province called for an evacuation of the community of 1,800.
Modest investments would make a big difference. Saskatchewan recently announced the purchase and repurposing of four wildfire-fighting planes at a cost of $187-million. Each retardant drop from those planes costs about $23,000, according to Fire Aviation (a news site run by the International Association of Wildland Fire). Meanwhile, an organization called Yukon First Nations Wildfire charges about $7,000 to train and outfit an individual to fight fires.
Luckily, a shift is under way. When a fire threatened the Little Red River Cree First Nation in Alberta last year, local crews were not allowed to respond officially at first. A compromise was reached owing to pressure from the Little Red River chief and council, and local firefighters received equipment. They knew the landscape better than anyone – the back roads, wetlands, safe river crossings and equipment operators. This year, when fire returned, local fire crews were involved from the start and Alberta Wildfire’s statements highlighted the benefits of local expertise.
We often hear about a potential federal wildland firefighting force, but more bureaucracy with people further removed from local knowledge is not the answer.
We need a large-scale approach to mobilizing an untapped resource: Indigenous guardians. More than 200 First Nations guardian programs already help manage lands and waters across the country. Some are helping respond to fires.
When fire threatened Fort Good Hope, NWT, this June, K’asho Got’ıne Foundation guardians were prepared. They helped evacuate community members, and thanks to training from Yukon First Nations Wildfire, they joined the fire line and helped save the town.
By expanding guardians programs and investing in new fire guardians programs, we can create a fleet of professionals ready to respond to fires and reduce risk. Indigenous fire guardians will be able to put fire on the land in spring and fall – a technique proven to reduce fire risk during hot, dry summers. Not only does this increase the ability to navigate this new era of fire, but it also creates jobs.
Engaging more guardians and Indigenous crews in fighting wildfire is an investment that will pay off. It will enable First Nations and Canada to meet the challenge of supercharged fire with greater capacity and knowledge. This is the future of fire.