Wildfire Mitigation Project

The Municipality of North Cowichan analysed its wildfire risk in the 2020 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The overall wildfire risk in North Cowichan was determined to be moderate to high and is expected to increase in the future with climate change. The project described on this page was launched in 2021 to respond to several of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan’s recommendations. This work will support wildfire resilience through a variety of strategies to proactively reduce wildfire risk in North Cowichan. The scope of the 2021 wildfire risk reduction project includes three components:

1. Wildfire risk reduction treatment plans for municipal land (also referred to as fuels management prescriptions): the prescriptions will set out objectives and strategies to reduce the wildfire risk on Municipality-owned forested areas adjacent to homes or other important infrastructure in three high-risk areas identified in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
2. FireSmart assessments of critical infrastructure: the assessments will quantify wildfire risk for infrastructure that is critical to the functioning and resilience of the community. Once quantified, small and targeted interventions can be planned to reduce the wildfire risk.
3. Development of a Wildfire Development Permit Area and associated guidelines for private property development and construction within high-risk wildfire areas: the development permit area will create a framework allowing the municipality to work with private property undergoing development towards more wildfire resilient developments.

Learn more

You can learn more about all three project components and find up-to-date information about the project by visiting the interactive project page (click on the thumbnail below).

Get involved

Assessment of the potential impacts of wildfire mitigation works on social, recreational, and cultural values will be shared. Feedback will be sought on these values from stakeholders and public engagement between October 2021 and January 2022.

Timeline

Click on the thumbnail of the timeline below to view the detailed timeline for this project:

Coming soon! Details on the information sessions, including dates and how you can participate. 

Community members

Community members will be invited to attend up to four virtual public information sessions to learn more and ask questions about the wildfire risk reduction treatment plans, FireSmart assessments, and the wildfire development permit area. Three of the public information sessions will be focused on each one of the wildfire risk reduction treatment areas. A fourth information session will be focused on the wildfire development permit area.

PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION 1: Mt. Tzouhalem Wednesday, November 3 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. This public information session will be hosted by North Cowichan and Diamond Head Consulting to provide information about the fuel management prescription for Mt. Tzouhalem. The fuel management prescription is a comprehensive plan to manage fuel (i.e., vegetation that sustains wildfire) in a selected forest. This online session will take place on Zoom and will include a presentation followed by a question period. It is the first in a series of four events to inform the community about three fuel management prescriptions and the development of a wildfire development permit area.  Please register in advance at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIucu6opzwoEtJLpb-vrimVXvs8ef5FfK8l

 

Technical stakeholders from the development and construction industry

These stakeholders will be invited to participate in one of two online workshops to assist in determining feasible and practical wildfire DPA guidelines to balance wildfire risk reduction with constraints to development and construction.

TECHNICAL WORKSHOP 1  Monday, October 25, 2021 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. This online workshop is intended for representatives of the construction, development, and real estate industry. The workshop will aim to: Inform attendees on the typical content and guidelines for wildfire development permit areas Present the areas likely to be included in the development permit area and the expected impacts on the development process (i.e., professional reports and inspection requirements) Discuss the opportunities and concerns for the development permit area guidelines Please register in advance at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsfu6srzMsG9aqlXPS9MM7wVpv2zLRpU40

Homeowners 

Homeowners within the proposed wildfire development permit area will be contacted with information about the project and provided with an opportunity to share their comments.

Questions?

Questions about this project can be directed to our consulting team at Diamond Head Consulting at: wildfire@diamondheadconsulting.com

Related projects

The Municipality of North Cowichan is currently engaging community members on the future management of the Municipal Forest Reserve. This is part of the Council directed technical review of forest management practices being conducted by the UBC Partnership group. You can find out more about the Forestry Review at www.northcowichan.ca/forestry

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