The BC United MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin called for urgent action as wildfires have already begun to harm BC communities.
Lorne Doerkson spoke in the Legislature earlier this week on the need to do things differently to prepare, respond to and recover from wildfires.
Doerkson also spoke about using local resources and expertise to modernize the way we fight fires.
“We need to do a better job at a local level with our local contractors, our local First Nations, taking advantage of the knowledge that they all share. I think some of that is happening and trust me when I say this, we’ve met with BC Wildfire Service in the past and they’re a great group, there’s no question about that. But I really feel that we need to be in a better place to be able to capitalize in the best way possible we can on all of that knowledge.”
Doerkson added we ought to have used a local rancher or a local First Nation with respect to what they know and what they’ve learned about the area they live in specifically.
And with the number of wildfires burning in the province and in our region, Doerkson is very concerned how early they’ve begun this year.
“There’s been more than 40 fires that have started in the last week or so and that’s pretty significant. Many people are not even planting their gardens in the Cariboo-Chilcotin until at least the May long weekend and to note that we’ve already had a number of fires in our region, that we’ve already had an Evacuation Alert for the Burgess Creek wildfire, which has since been lifted, I’m thrilled about that, but certainly it’s very concerning.”
Doerkson said this is a complex issue and the team at the Cariboo Fire Centre is an amazing group and he knows how hard they’re working.
“Last year I went up there a number of times and you could see obviously the stress of the wildfire season on them. There’s no question this is not anything but a need for more resources, a need to use the things, the tools, that we have in a better way. My biggest fear with respect to all of this of course is what’s happening currently and the fact we’re already seeing fire on the landscape.”