Protecting communities from wildfire by means of Indigenous stewardship

A partnership between UBC Okanagan and the First Nations Emergency Services Society (FNESS) to develop new applied sciences supporting Indigenous fireplace stewardship acquired a funding increase yesterday.

The federal authorities is contributing greater than $2.3 million to assist the partnership, a part of Natural Resources Canada’s Build and Mobilize Foundational Wildland Fire Knowledge program, which offered $41.7 million for 20 tasks throughout Canada—all with the frequent purpose of defending Canadians from the elevated risk of wildfire.

“Protecting the safety, health and economic wellbeing of communities across Canada is a top priority as we face the ongoing threat of wildfires,” says The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

“Our government is leading efforts to strengthen wildfire management and reduce wildfire risks in Canada,” he provides. “Today’s announcement will allow us to prepare for future challenges by advancing wildfire knowledge, accelerating risk and mitigation strategies and supporting Indigenous fire stewardship to build resilience and protect Canadian families and homes.”

A portion of the funding will assist Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, Assistant Professor within the Irving Ok. Barber Faculty of Science, and his continued work with the FNESS.

“By weaving Indigenous knowledge and values with new fire-risk sensor technology and predictive models, this project will help mitigate the risk of severe wildfire to Indigenous, economic and natural resource values, and contribute to the restoration of cultural and prescribed fire practices on traditional territories,” says Dr. Bourbonnais.

This consists of deploying 150 fire-risk sensors in collaboration with First Nations communities in British Columbia. Data from the sensors will then be utilized in AI predictive fashions developed by UBCO researchers to forecast wildfire danger and potential fireplace behaviour.

Mapping of values and infrastructure built-in with the established fireplace danger will assist the event of built-in fireplace administration frameworks centred on the wants of the group, explains Matt Nelson, FNESS Integrated Fire Management Supervisor.

“This support from Natural Resources Canada is a game-changer. This funding allows UBCO and FNESS to work collaboratively with First Nations communities on holistic fire mitigation,” he says. “By combining Indigenous knowledge with new technology, we’re helping to predict wildfire risk while respecting and integrating traditional fire practices. This initiative is about empowering communities to protect their land and their people.”

The funding will assist the UBCO-FNESS challenge by means of to 2028.

Yesterday, together with the Build and Mobilize Foundational Wildland Fire Knowledge program, the federal government additionally introduced a further $3.9 million in grants for 10 Indigenous-led tasks.