Chilcotin Forest District - Protection Branch

About us and what we do - Fighting Wildfires

A wildfire is an unplanned or unwanted natural or person-caused fire which requires suppression action. There are more than 2,000 wildfires in British Columbia every year. Through quick reporting and the efforts of fire crews and staff, 92 percent of all wildfires in B.C. are contained at less than four hectares (9.8 acres) in size.

There are more than 2,000 wildfires in British Columbia every year. Through quick reporting and the efforts of fire crews and staff, 92 percent of all wildfires in B.C. are contained at less than four hectares (9.8 acres) in size.

Fire fighters are most successful when wildfires are discovered and reported while there are still small. Through early detection and aggressive initial attack of wildfires, the Protection Branch is able to keep the cost of fighting wildfires to a minimum.

The British Columbia Forest Service, Protection Branch has been responding to wildfires since it was formed in 1912. The Protection Branch is internationally recognized as a leader in wildfire management and is known for its highly trained and committed personnel, uncompromising safety attitude, and innovative use of technology.
B.C.'s forests and wildlands cover over 94 million hectares (nearly a million square kilometres) and are the most diverse in Canada. Confronted by an average of 2,000 wildfires each year, highly trained fire crews are successful in containing 92 percent of all wildfires in B.C. within the first 24-hours of discovery.

The Protection Branch is tasked with managing wildfires on both Crown and private lands outside of organized areas such as municipalities or regional districts. While the Protection Branch is mandated to protect life and assets, particularly forests and grasslands, it gives high priority to fires in interface areas where communities and forests come together. As B.C.'s population continues to grow and more people build homes in or near wildland areas, the interface area will be the biggest challenge facing the Protection Branch.

Mandate

Provide wildfire management and emergency response support to protect life and assets, particularly forest and grasslands, as provided for under legislation, government plans and cost-sharing agreements.

Vision

Global excellence in wildfire management and response services.

Mission

To deliver global excellence in wildfire management and response services, our team will:

• Provide for the safety of responders and the public
• Protect British Columbia forest land, grass land, natural resources and other assets from unwanted wildfire
• Develop, deliver and promote innovative and effective wildfire management practices to clients
• Support emergency response for the people of British Columbia, Canada and the world

With over 90 years of experience in wildland fire management, the British Columbia Forest Service, Protection Branch is proud to share its knowledge and expertise in wildland fire control and prevention with the international fire suppression community. The Protection Branch can provide fire management consulting services, customized fire suppression training and share advice on available equipment and systems technologies. The Protection Branch has partnered with emergency and land management agencies from several foreign countries on development projects, some of which were funded by the Canadian federal government. These linkages allow British Columbia to play an active role in supporting less developed organizations throughout the world to improve their capabilities to managing wildfire in their respective environments. Since the early 1990s, the British Columbia Forest Service, Protection Branch has participated in projects throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Co-operation has consisted of general information sharing such as tours of our fire control and prevention operations to specific training programs and consulting services contracts. The list of client countries to date consists of: France, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Belarus, Russia, Sweden, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Ghana, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Zambia, New Zealand and Australia. For more information on previous and coming events.
In 1994, the B.C. Forest Service was restructured to maximize its effectiveness. Most importantly, fire crews became a provincial resource allowing crews to be moved to where they are most needed. The province is divided into six fire centres: Coastal, Northwest, Prince George, Kamloops, Southeast and Cariboo. Each fire centre is in turn made up of fire zones.

Wildfire Prevention

There are approximately 2,000 wildfires in British Columbia each year. Of those, roughly half are person-caused, while the other half are lightning-caused.
Person-caused wildfires are those related to abandoned campfires, smoking, logging, railroads, brush or range burns, construction, recreationalists and arson. All person-caused wildfires are preventable. You can help prevent wildfires.

In an attempt to reduce the number of person-caused fires, the B.C. Forest Service has an extensive fire prevention program which targets the general public, the forest industry, communities, property owners and other stakeholders.

The following table shows the number and percentage of people- and lightning-caused fires for last year 1996 to 2006.

* The average does not include the most recent years, from 2007 onward.

Safety

The B.C. Forest Service is concerned about residents living in forested areas and will take action to prevent the loss of life or the spread of fire to or from structures.. However, Forest Service personnel are not equipped or trained to fight structure fires.