How BC Wildfire Service uses planned ignitions to fight blazes

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) has countless tools in its firefighting arsenal, from aerial crews to bulldozers. But sometimes, a good defence requires a strong offence – controlled ignitions, where BCWS intentionally ignites fires to use up fuels, are one such case.

While seemingly counterintuitive, the strategy can help control bigger fires, and in early July was used on a wildfire near the east shore of Kinbasket Lake, said BCWS Information Officer Pedro Roldan-Delgado.

“Because the terrain [of the Kinbasket fire] was extremely steep, it would be unsafe for our crew members to actually action the fire,” Roldan-Delgado told The Goat in an interview. “We did an ignition to make sure it wouldn’t spread further than where our planned ignition was – we didn’t want it to grow south, east and west.”

The ignition allowed BCWS to control the spread of the fire by establishing control lines – wide dirt paths where fuel is removed from the ground with bulldozers or shovels – around the planned ignition. According to Roldan-Delgado, rocky mountainsides with little fuel provided a natural control line at the Kinbasket fire, so BCWS carried out a planned ignition to burn up remaining fuel between the fire’s natural perimeter and that control line.

“There’s a lot that goes through to plan these ignitions,” he added. “It’s only carried through with skilled, experienced firefighters utilizing fire and weather information to support our decision making on the timing and scale of the planned ignition.”

Ground crews and specialized firefighters communicate with the local fire centre to make these decisions, Roldan-Delgado said. They consider factors like wind and precipitation – if it’s very hot and dry, a planned ignition is too risky, so BCWS will wait for safer conditions, he said.

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The Prince George Fire Centre currently has a ban prohibiting fires bigger than half a meter wide and half a meter tall. People stoking campfires should clear fuel and debris near the campfire’s edge and hold off on having a fire if it’s windy, Roldan-Delgado said.

With thunderstorms rolling through the Prince George Fire Centre, Roldan-Delgado reminds residents to report fires to BCWS by dialing *5555 or 1-800-663-5555.

“Always assume we’re not aware of it, give us a call, and report the wildfire,” he said.