A fire practitioner monitors fire behaviour on a prescribed fire in the Kootenays. The prescribed fire was planned for ecosystem restoration and to protect critical infrastructure.
From an early age, we are taught to fear fire without understanding the essential role it plays in supporting ecological resilience.
The new $8M Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program, co-developed by UBC's Okanagan campus and the Weston Family Foundation, will address a critical gap in Canada's ability to use and scale prescribed fire as a land management and ecological restoration tool.
Canada's diverse ecosystems have evolved over thousands of years to rely on fire to support biodiversity, ecological health and resilience. Over time, changes to land management practices, including the widespread suppression and exclusion of fire, have left these ecosystems out of balance. As vegetation builds up, it acts like kindling, allowing fires to become more intense and harder to control, contributing to increasingly devastating and severe wildfires across Canada.
Prescribed fire is a safe, planned, and proven land management tool used to enhance the health of our ecosystems, support biodiversity and reduce wildfire severity and risk. Despite its demonstrated benefits, the value of prescribed fire is not widely recognized or understood. As a result, it is vastly underused in Canada and is widely constrained by the limited availability of training, mentorship and opportunities to gain operational experience in the field.
"The compounding effects of climate change and extreme wildfire events call for more proactive, planned and land-driven management tools to support healthy, wildfire resilient landscapes," says Garfield Mitchell, Chair of the Weston Family Foundation. "This program directly addresses the skills and training gap that has been long overlooked to strengthen our capacity for widespread and responsible use of prescribed fire in Canada."
The Prescribed Fire Training Program will educate and train practitioners across Canada through regional hubs, tailoring prescribed fire training to meet the needs of Canada's diverse and varied landscapes, and delivering significant community safety and ecological benefits nationwide.
There are five regional hubs: Western, Northern, Central, Eastern and Atlantic Canada. These hubs will ensure approaches reflect local ecosystems, governance structures and operational realities. The program further emphasizes cross-disciplinary collaboration and evidence-informed practice, while respecting and supporting Indigenous-led fire stewardship and cultural fire practices.
"Canada's ability to expand the use of prescribed fire has been constrained by a lack of coordinated training and clear pathways to operational experience," says Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, Assistant Professor in UBCO's Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science and the director of the Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program. "This program provides the leadership and structure needed to establish national standards, deliver regionally grounded training and build the capacity required to apply prescribed fire safely, responsibly and at scale."
As the frequency and severity of wildfires increase, the safe and responsible use of prescribed fire can counter adverse effects on communities and the environment by reducing risk and keeping our landscapes healthy and resilient.
Learn more about the Canadian Prescribed Fire Training Program at: rxfire.ca
A driptorch, a tool used by fire practioners to apply fire, rests beside a prescribed fire in the Kootenays.
