Wildfire

Wildfire 

Did you know? The Provincial government employs skilled personnel to detect, monitor and respond to an average of 1,600 wildfires per year in British Columbia. When wildfires burn away from houses or infrastructure, they can have ecological benefits. At other times, a damaging wildfire can threaten homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure, potentially impacting people's lives. 

Unfortunately, the chance of a damaging wildfire increases every year, due in part to hotter and drier summer conditions. Wildfires can have devastating affects on people, sometimes causing evacuations, loss of property, displacement of key lifestyle factors (such as schools, work, etc.) and can even affect topography and soil stability (PDF), contributing to flooding and landslides. Read about how B.C. is preparing for and adapting to climate change.

How to prepare: 

Before a wildfire

During a wildfire

After a wildfire

  • Conditions and hazards to consider when entering an area affected by wildfire
    • Area Restrictions: Ensure your area is safe and has been cleared for re-entry by the local government
    • Road Conditions: Before driving through a wildfire impacted area, please check for road closure and highway conditions at DriveBC
    • Danger Trees: These are a great hazard after a wildfire. See BC Wildfire's resource 'Safety Awareness for Fire Damaged Trees'
    • Heavy equipment, aircraft and personnel engaging in suppression activities 
    • Ash pits, which may be hard to detect and can remain hot long after the flames have died down 
    • Unstable soils and terrain prone to erosion 
    • Increased potential for landslides or rock falls 
    • Damaged trails or irregular trail surfaces 
    • Increased water runoff, which could lead to flooding or debris flows 
    • Damaged infrastructure 
  • Re-entry: RDN Info, Province of BC Info  
  • Food and water safety: Province of BC, BC Health, and the HealthLinkBC resource 'Wildfire: Its effects on drinking water quality'
  • Psychological care and Mental Health supports:
    • Canadian Mental Health Association: Coping with disaster stress
    • Visit Help Starts Here or call 310-6789 (no area code) to find support for you or loved ones
    • BC Mental Health Crisis line: Call 1-800-784-2433 or dial 9-8-8 if you are experiencing feelings of distress or despair
    • For the Wellness helpline for Indigenous people, call 1-855-242-3310
    • For additional mental health and substance use information, visit Here to Help
    • Virtual mental health supports are online, including low- and no-cost counselling services
    • Care for Caregivers, a peer-based phone, text and webchat service provides free and confidential support to health and social support workers in B.C.
  • Starting the insurance claim process (please contact your insurance provider) and refer to the Office of the Fire Commissioner resource 'What to do after a fire'

For a printable resource, you can download Prepared BC: Get prepared for a wildfire.

Get notified of an emergency in your area  

Sign up for RDN's Voyent Alert! notifications. Registration for the service is free, simple and anonymous. You can choose how you would like to receive alerts, either through a mobile app, email, text message or phone call to both landline and/or mobile number. We send out notifications when there is an emergency you should be aware of and will use this system as part of the notification process during emergencies.

Provincial and National alerts & maps

Useful links