EMERGENCY RISK REDUCTION

Most of you are aware that in British Columbia, I have primarily focused on agricultural emergencies. Most agri projects in which I have been involved over the years address “planning”.  My hope is that this planning results in a swifter and more effective response to a natural disaster. This might be a Plan for the province, for a local government, or for a producer group – such as dairy, poultry, beef cattle, etc. Perhaps, like in your home area, many disasters can occur. But I have noticed a concentration on three disasters affecting ag producers in British Columbia. I will discuss them in separate blogs.

The first is wildfire, and this disaster primarily impacts ranches. BC is a vast area, as large as California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho combined. It is huge, and there are both small and large ranches, especially in the ‘interior’. There are also large tracks of forest, some seemingly going on forever. Although, I hasten to say, they do not. With a forest comes the chance of a fire – in fact, statistically almost a certainty in every district in BC during the upcoming decades. Incidentally, ½ of wildfires are natural, usually from lightening; ½ of wildfires are human-caused, mostly from carelessness.

Wildfire risk has been exacerbated in BC because of a little pest the size of your fingernail – the pine beetle. This little insect has cause massive forest damage, because it has infected large swaths of woodlands and killed the trees. However the trees keep standing, at least for several years. They are dead, dry, and brittle – and excellent kindling for a fire. In the best of times, controlling a wildfire is challenging. These are hot fires, and both difficult and dangerous to fight.

I used to think fighting wildfire was all grunt work – just throw some bodies and machinery out there. Only when I was at a coordination center with some rangers a few years ago did I understand the complexity of fire characteristics — how they change depending on topography, weather, fuel load, time of day, etc. Limited resources must be put to the best use for the knocking back the fire. And sometimes this isn’t enough. The annual cost in BC for fighting fires is huge.

This affects agriculture because it impacts ranchers, both the structures and the beef cattle. There are some mitigation measures to protect structures, such as cutting back the fuel load around houses, barns, and sheds. As for livestock, the options are to do nothing. I think this is hardly an option. Secondly, shelter in place, or somewhere on the ranch. This is possible if planned ahead and a location is available. The third is herd relocation. This requires more planning. Where will they go? Is there feed and water? Medical care? How will they get there? Who will transport? For how long? How will they return?

Perhaps the most contentious issue that we face is financial compensation. Who, if anyone, will pay for the relocation? Is it the responsibility of the federal, the province, the local government, or is the cost back on the rancher/farmer? After numerous  meetings and reviews, the answer basically is, “It depends.” Ultimately it’s the farmer’s responsibility for the livestock, including relocation, but the government can assist in a major disaster, an “emergency declaration”.  This holds true for not only a wildfire, but other disasters such as flooding.

Flooding happens to be the second of three common disasters which I try to assist with as a planner. I will discuss flooding in British Columbia on my next blog. Thanks for reading.