The B.C. Forest Practices Board (FPB) is investigating a planned aerial ignition used in the North Shuswap in response to the spread of the Bush Creek East wildfire.

The investigation was prompted by a complaint received on Sept. 18, 2023, regarding an Aug. 17 ignition that occurred near the communities of Lee Creek and Scotch Creek.

B次元官网网址淏CWS (BC Wildfire Service) has been notified and FPB is arranging to go on site this month,B次元官网网址� said the FPB in an email. B次元官网网址淚nterviews with relevant people will follow. A panel will consider the investigatorsB次元官网网址� findings, and recommendations may be made.B次元官网网址�

North Shuswap resident Jim Cooperman filed a complaint with the FPB, alleging B次元官网网址済ross negligenceB次元官网网址� by the BCWS in conducting the ignition about two kilometres from his home.

Conducted in the evening of Aug. 17, the ignition occurred over an approximately 2,600-hectare area along a powerline southeast of the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire. On Aug. 18, whipped up by high winds, the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek East wildfires combined, and fire spread into Lee Creek, Scotch Creek and Celista, as well as the Skwl膩x First Nation, destroying approximately 250 structures.

Cooperman alleges it was the planned ignition, not the wildfires themselves, that raced down the slope on Aug. 18 and into North Shuswap communities.

B次元官网网址淚t is obvious to anyone standing on the powerline and looking east to Scotch Creek below, that the back burn was uncontrolled, and travelled down the powerline thanks to the dead brush left from Hydro slashing it in the spring (there are stumps left from the slashing) and blew east to Celista and south to the community of Scotch Creek,B次元官网网址� said Cooperman. B次元官网网址淵ou do not need to be an expert to see this evidence.B次元官网网址�

Cooperman, however, did bring in an expert to assess the backburn/ignition. Retired registered professional forester Rob Morrow viewed the planned ignition site on Oct. 3. In a draft report, shared by Cooperman with the Observer, Morrow stated the Aug. 17 ignition, failed to meet basic standards of controlled burning in at least five ways. One had to do with control lines. Morrow found no identifiable control lines at the east or west ends of the burn.

B次元官网网址淭o conduct a controlled burn, the entire area planned for ignition must be surrounded by control lines, non-burnable surfaces, natural or man-made, that can be used to control fire spread.B次元官网网址�

Morrow also raised concerns with the ignition area being too large, the burn-off being B次元官网网址渉otter than the wildfire,B次元官网网址� the hydro line serving as a poor fuel break, and the ignition being conducted prior to a forecasted wind event.

B次元官网网址淔avourable burn conditions, with winds blowing north and uphill in the area, were only available for a few hours,B次元官网网址� reads the report. B次元官网网址淎fter which, the burn-off was going to be subject to strong winds that would direct the burn-off without any control. There was not adequate time to complete the burn and have it consume the fuels between the burn-off and the main fire before the wind event occurred .B次元官网网址�

In his summary, Morrow called the ignition B次元官网网址渁 very high-risk activity with little chance of success under the extreme conditions on August 17.B次元官网网址�

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A few days after the firestorm, the director of operations for the BC Wildfire Service defended the planned ignition, saying sustained high winds that changed the course of the fire were responsible for much of the damage.

B次元官网网址淲e did our planned ignition under the conditions we planned for and it was largely successful,B次元官网网址� Cliff Chapman told media. B次元官网网址淚 want to be perfectly clear: that planned ignition saved hundreds of homes and properties along the north Shuswap.B次元官网网址�

Cooperman, however, alleges the planned ignition was responsible for B次元官网网址渁 billion dollars worth of damage,B次元官网网址� including loss or damage of structures, infrastructure and trees, as well as having a negative impact on the local ecosystem.

B次元官网网址淚t could really damage the salmon and trout habitat,B次元官网网址� said Cooperman. B次元官网网址淎lso thereB次元官网网址檚 a concern weB次元官网网址檒l get an algae bloom next year. Ashes are nutrients, you put all thatB次元官网网址� into the lake, it could create an algae bloom.B次元官网网址�

The FPB said its investigation may take six months to a year.

In the meantime, Cooperman argues a number of changes need to be made to how the province addresses wildfires, including BCWS operations.

B次元官网网址淎ll the effort has to be put on initial attack,B次元官网网址� said Cooperman. B次元官网网址淲e need far more equipment, we need far more air power. So a revamped wildfire service that focuses on the initial attack with plenty of skimmer planes and water bombers at their disposal, with linkages to contractors, logging companies, people on the groundB次元官网网址� so when fires are in a community, everybody is onboard working on it.

B次元官网网址淎nd then we have to do way more prevention. Salmon Arm needs to have the forest logged a kilometre circle around the community, or Salmon Arm could go up in smoke just like Lytton and the North Shuswap,B次元官网网址� said Cooperman. B次元官网网址淚 mean, IB次元官网网址檓 a tree-hugger, but I see trees as the problem now. We really have to get into having deciduous trees around our communities instead of conifers.B次元官网网址�

With files by Canadian Press.

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