Fighting Fires with Fire

Damage arising from the 2009 wildfires in B.C. was not nearly as severe as the insured losses caused by fires that ravaged the Kelowna area in 2003, a fact that some in the industry are attributing to a combination of lessons learned and co-operation from Mother Nature.

In late July and early August of 2009, fires swept through the Kelowna area of B.C., forcing more than 11,000 residents to evacuate their homes. For B.C. residents, it was an example of “dj vu all over again.”

In 2003, the worst summer on record for forest fires in B.C., hot, dry weather resulted in 2,500 wildfire starts over a vast area, mostly in the interior of the province. The 2003 fires destroyed more than 334 homes and many businesses and forced the evacuation of more than 45,000 people, according to the British Columbia 2003 Firestorm Provincial Review. The total cost of insured damages reached approximately Cdn$200 million, said the IBC.

This year, however, the claims and damage tally is a different story.

Only four homes were destroyed in the 2009 fires, says Lindsay Olson, IBC’s vice president, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. “If there were going to be any claims, it would be [a result of] the mass evacuation coverage for the homeowners,” she says. “But the limits under most policies are as such that even that total would not be very large either.” As a result, IBC did not survey insurers to determine the exact cost.

So, what was so different this year from six years ago? Greg Thierman, manager of Crawford & Company (Canada)’s Kelowna branch, says that while the 2009 fires did come very close to densely populated areas, the efforts of firefighters, the public and a bit of co-operation from Mother Nature prevented the fires from spreading into residential areas.

“I think that the public and governments have learned from the 2003 fires,” Thierman says.

How so?

Following the 2003 fires, the provincial government commissioned Gary Filmon, Manitoba’s former premier, to conduct a review and write a report, Firestorm 2003, that contained at least 46 recommendations. One was to use ‘structural protection units’ or mobile units that can be put into place and are capable or protecting entire rows of houses, Thierman says.

Also, public awareness campaigns have led B.C. residents to undertake risk mitigation measures such as cutting back trees and dead branches, and keeping properties free and clear of debris piles and pine needles that would serve as fuel for a fire.

Currently, municipal and provincial governments are talking about creating fireguards around towns. Forests that extend into developed areas, for example, would be cut back roughly 500 metres or so. “It would give us a line to actually fight the fires,” Thierman says. “If the wind’s blowing and embers are taking off, at least we would have that 500 metres or so for that particular area as a bit of a buffer zone.”