Gov't says it has addressed most aspects of wildfire-flood report

Photo: The Canadian Press

Fire devastation in Boston Flats

The provincial government says it has addressed most of the recommendations outlined in a report looking into the devastating floods and wildfires in 2017 in the province.

The Abbott-Chapman report, prepared by former MLA George Abbott and Chief Maureen Chapman, made 108 recommendations around dealing with both flood and wildfire risk.

It was in response to one of the worst flooding and wildfire seasons on record in the province.

In a progress update released Thursday, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Doug Donaldson says the government has responded to 99 of those recommendations. Forty-nine are considered complete, 19 are underway and 31 have seen substantial improvement.

"We continue to make solid progress on the report's recommendations, such as incorporating the United Nations' Sendai Framework and collaborating with First Nations on emergency management improvements," said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

"We're going to continue to move forward with these changes and entrench them in our modernization of the Emergency Program Act to ensure this critical piece of legislation is responsive to the needs of all British Columbians."

The Abbott-Chapman report made it clear that governments needed to improve how to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from wildfires and floods.

"Chief Maureen Chapman and I spent months travelling around the province last year in the wake of the 2017 wildfire and freshet seasons. We listened very closely to the concerns of many individuals and communities who were directly affected by those catastrophic events," Abbott said.

"It's encouraging to see the B.C. government's prompt and thorough response to our report, and heartening to see how much work has been done to address our report's recommendations."

Chapman said it was crucial for the committee to hear firsthand how people in the province were impacted by those events in 2017. More than 65,000 residents were displaced during what was the longest state of emergency in the province's history.

"The changes made as a result of our report have enhanced the province's response capabilities, strengthened relationships between communities and provided First Nations a more direct role in how such emergencies will be dealt with in future."

It cost the province more than $650 million to respond to both flooding and wildfires in 2017.