Wildland residential areas aren't prepared for wildfires: study

Over the last decade, Canada has experienced increasingly worse wildfires as the impacts of climate change fuel the conditions for raging fires. Natural Resources Canada reports more than 6,000 fires have scorched 16.5 million hectares of land in 2023 alone.

As wildfires worsen year-over-year, a new study has found Canada, along with Australia and the U.S., aren't effectively preparing their citizens in wildland communities for these extreme events.

The review, published on Monday by Ontario's York University, found that these nations are failing to implement effective changes to the structure of homes in vulnerable areas and providing maintenance to ensure they're able to avoid tragedy when disaster strikes.

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Associate professor of disaster and emergency management and study co-author Eric B. Kennedy explained the 78 journal articles reviewed by him and co-author Sarah Cowan show there are solutions to this issue, but various factors are stalling effective change.

Wildfire mitigation begins with the physical structure of a home or building, Kennedy told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Tuesday, but many homes built after disaster are designed the same way they were before, without taking into account future fire prevention.

These changes can be costly to homeowners, and with rising inflation and frequent wildfires impacting home insurance premiums, these challenges aren't making wildfire mitigation any easier on residents, Kennedy explained.

"It's not just one problem but it's a problem multiplied by a problem, multiplied by another problem and all of those factors multiplying on each other leads to the kinds of tragedies we see today," Kennedy said.

BUILDING BACK BETTER ACROSS ALL SECTORS

Amid Canada's worst wildfire season on record, the federal government introduced various programs focused on firefighting training, wildfire monitoring systems and investing in wildland communities. Kennedy said while wildfire response initiatives are essential to the cause, there needs to be collaborative efforts made across all levels of government and private sectors like insurance companies to protect residents from natural disasters.

Kennedy recommends improving housing guidelines to include quality construction for not only new homes but for the maintenance of pre-existing homes in wildland communities. Insurance companies in particular, he said, also have the opportunity to support residents by covering costs to rebuild a more durable home after a wildfire or even help a homeowner prepare for disaster.

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"There are almost pressures from the way insurance payouts are made to build back with the same kind of construction that led to loss in the first place and so I think there are really exciting opportunities for companies to be part of the solution" he said.

Additionally, providing help with home maintenance can alleviate some of the burden for homeowners, particularly Indigenous communities who live in remote areas and have been disproportionately impacted by the wildfires or residents who have physical ailments and are unable to complete home repairs themselves.

"How do we make these mitigations inclusive so that everyone can do them? So, there's a real opportunity for Canada to be a leader on these challenges and based on the fire season we saw this year, it's going to be important," he said.