How Fire Can Contribute to Wildfire Resilience?
May 13, 2025
Victoria, B.C. lək̓ʷəŋən territory: Over the past decade, wildfires in B.C. have broken numerous records, resulting in significant social, economic, and ecological impacts. Addressing this wildfire crisis will require a whole-of-society approach that includes improving governance, expanding proactive strategies that mitigate risks to ecosystems and communities, improving knowledge of wildfire, and growing capacity among governments, communities, and industry.
Released today by the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project, based at the University of Victoria’s Centre for Global Studies, the report Beneficial Fire in British Columbia: An Exploration of How Fire Can Contribute to Wildfire Resilience explores promoting beneficial fire as a strategy to reduce risk from wildfire and promote wildfire resilience.
The concept of beneficial fire offers an important shift away from the view that fire is bad. Fire is a necessary part of most ecosystems in B.C. And beneficial fire is a positive force that should be encouraged.
“To promote wildfire resilience, society can increase the amount of beneficial fire and reduce the amount of detrimental fire,” said Kevin Kriese, report co-author and Senior Wildfire and Land Use Analyst at the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project.
The authors define beneficial fire as planned or unplanned wildland fire that has positive effects on ecosystem processes and functions and has acceptable risk to human communities. Beneficial fire typically includes cultural fire (Indigenous-led) and prescribed fire and managed wildfire.
“Promoting beneficial fire requires increasing the amount of cultural fire, as well as prescribed fire,” said Kevin Kriese. “There are a growing number of projects across B.C. led by Indigenous governments, the provincial government, and local communities that are putting fire back on the land. This is cause for optimism.”
In addition, when they don’t threaten communities, wildfires can provide ecological benefits. Communities can take steps to reduce risks from wildfire, such as FireSmart projects. Then, under the right conditions and in the right places, some wildfires can be allowed to do important ecological work.
The authors recommend and describe four opportunities for action to advance beneficial fire as part of a whole-of-society strategy to promote wildfire resilience in B.C. One key aspect is the need for better information and awareness about the benefits of fire. With better information, communities can understand when fires are providing ecological benefits and when they are posing unacceptable risks.
“Ultimately, it’s communities that evaluate and manage risk and trade-offs to determine what kinds of fire are beneficial, so strong place-based governance is a priority,” said Andrea Barnett, report co-author and Project Facilitator and Analyst at the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project. “Through place-based planning and decision-making, communities can become more wildfire resilient. They can assess to decide where and when to promote more beneficial fire or continue to suppress fires that have unacceptable risk.”
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Media Contact:
Shayla Auld (POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project) at [email protected]
Download the Beneficial Fire Report Here
About the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project
The POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project an action-based, interdisciplinary research team at the University of Victoria’s Centre for Global Studies. We offer practical solutions to advance wildfire resilience in British Columbia. As part of an international network, we focus on the nexus of resilience and governance, working with all levels of government, Indigenous nations, local communities, industry, experts, researchers, and civil society to offer new perspectives, innovative ideas, and practical solutions. The goal of the Wildfire Resilience Project is to create a more secure future for communities and ecosystems by promoting a wildfire regime that lies within nature’s limits and reduces catastrophic wildfires. Our work is rooted in the principles of ecological governance and resilience with a firm goal of strengthening watershed security. Over the coming years, we will imagine and promote a new B.C. wildfire management and governance regime that helps position B.C. as a leader in wildfire resilience.
What is a ‘Whole-of-Society’ Approach to Wildfire? POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project Launches New Lightning Explainer Series
What is a whole-of-society approach? And how can it help reduce catastrophic wildfires?
These questions were the starting point for creating the latest brief published by the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project, based at the University of Victoria’s Centre for Global Studies.
The short explainer, titled Wildfire and a Whole-of-Society Approach, is the first publication in POLIS’ new “Lightning Explainer” series, which will explore critical and emerging issues concerning wildfire resilience and inform governance and other reforms, including the need for deeper research and further investigations.
“Our goal with this first explainer — and with the Lightning Explainer series in general — is to not only increase understanding, but to stimulate discussion and dialogue around landscape and wildfire resilience,” said co-author Andrea Barnett, project facilitator and analyst at the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project.
In the face of increasingly catastrophic wildfires, there is urgent need for additional resources, capacity and capability, efforts, and expertise to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of wildfire impacts on community safety, watershed security, and ecosystem health.
“The increasing scale and challenge of the wildfire crisis requires a response of similar magnitude,” said lead author Oliver M. Brandes, project lead at the POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project. “We need robust action both within and beyond the provincial government — action that extends to key players outside of government and broader societal engagement.”
The authors describe the importance of a coordinated response that involves the provincial government in collaboration with Indigenous, local, and federal governments, industry, civil society, practitioners, local experts, and communities.
“A whole-of-society approach to wildfire will foster innovation, local agency, and broader accountability — ultimately resulting in better outcomes on the ground,” said Oliver M. Brandes. “In our view, the provincial government is a crucial catalyst for unlocking this more collaborative, and ultimately innovative, approach.”
As described in the brief, an expanded whole-of-society approach to wildfire will create opportunities for new players and potential new roles in the areas of:
- Ecosystem-based fuel management.
- Increased prescribed and cultural burning.
- Community engagement, trust building, and education.
- Harm reduction through, for example, programs like FireSmart.
- Place-based, landscape-level, and community-based pilots and plans.
Future POLIS research on a whole-of-society approach will examine the specifics how best to enable such a model of distributed and shared authority in B.C. Future Lightning Explainers will explore topics including, carbon, conservation, fuel management and impacts on watershed security, economics, and health.
