Photo: The District of Clearwater

Clearwater Fire Department crew members actively extinguishing a fire impacting an old-growth cedar during a wildfire task last summer.r

The District of Clearwater is taking a new approach to wildfire response and mitigation, recruiting residents to join a specialized initial attack crew that will be called out to tackle new fire starts.

Along with launching the new initial attack team, the district, which is embedded in a dense forest, is also expanding its FireSmart Mitigation Crew to conduct fuel reduction projects throughout the community.

"Climate is changing. The trends are showing that we're getting hotter and drier. We need to react to that,” Merlin Blackwell, Clearwater mayor, told Castanet Kamloops.

“So we're going to do our part with this initial attack crew, and that crew will also operate with a perimeter of 10 kilometres outside of town so that we can also hit wildfires that could threaten Clearwater by moving from the outlying forest.”

On Tuesday, March 18, district council approved the establishment of the Clearwater Fire Department Initial Attack Crew and the expansion of the FireSmart Fuel Mitigation Crew.

Blackwell said council had been advocating for a number of years to have BC Wildfire Service initial attack crews return to Clearwater, but to no avail. The BCWS teams had previously been stationed in the district, but were moved back to the Kamloops base a few years ago.

Meanwhile, the local fire department came up with a proposal for the district to have its own initial attack crew.

“We looked at what we had for equipment in the volunteer fire department, and this was definitely a gap both in equipment and the style of training for a crew,” Blackwell said.

The district is recruiting up to six residents to join the volunteer team, which will complete wildfire-specific training. The crew will be equipped with a tactical water tender and a wildland bush truck outfitted for off-road wildfire response.

The team will provide an immediate response to wildfire ignitions within municipal boundaries, prioritizing early containment.

“The initial attack crew will significantly reduce response times by providing an immediate, specialized wildfire suppression capability directly within our community,” said Mike Smith, Clearwater Fire Chief, in a statement.

With approval from BCWS, the crew will also respond to fire starts within 10 kilometres of district boundaries. Blackwell said this will help protect values like the local community forest, other wood lots, and the watershed for a water system.

“It is looking at an area that would protect a lot of value in the way of financial dollars and jobs and infrastructure to the District of Clearwater, even though those hectares aren't within district boundaries,” he said.

For fire starts beyond this distance, responses will be at the direction of BCWS.

Blackwell said if the district is able to maintain volunteer levels for the next couple of years, he’d like to see the crew expand.

Meanwhile, the FireSmart Fuel Mitigation Crew will be increasing its capacity from two part-time positions, or 300 annual hours, to three full-time positions — more than 1,900 hours.

Blackwell said FireSmart crews will do work to protect critical assets and infrastructure, and then will be available to help residents who might not have the ability to complete this type of maintenance on their own.

“We just want a presence out there in the community that shows people how FireSmarting is done and what the end product looks like,” he said.

Blackwell said there were some concerns about the issue of provincial downloading — the municipality shouldering responsibilities and costs that are within the jurisdiction of the B.C. government.

However, while he still wants to see BCWS crews stationed in Clearwater for the benefit of the region, he believes the district still needs to address risks within its own boundaries.

“We have a lot of trees in Clearwater, and we have to take care of that ourselves. BC Wildfire cannot always be called upon, especially when things get really bad — and as they put it, ‘all the equipment is out of the barn’ — to look after us,” he said.

“We need to look after ourselves, and that's an unfortunate effect of climate change. I don't think we would have had to worry the same way we would have 10 years ago, but this is where we are now, and we have to adapt, and that's what we're doing as a council.”

Funding for the initial attack crew’s initial setup will come from the Wells Grey Community Forest Reserve, while the expanded FireSmart team will be funded through 2027 by a combination of the district’s Local Government Climate Action Program reserves and annual FireSmart grant contributions.

Photo: District of Clearwater

Clearwater Fire Department apparatus prepared for wildfire response.