West Coast Now
BC has faced an unprecedented year of wildfires and drought, and experts worry that floods could be the next incoming disaster.
“The goal here is that the task force will be working with the public service in partnership with the hard-working people from emergency response from the wildfire service to ensure we’re deploying additional resources, we’re deploying solutions as they’re recommended to us.”
Premier David Eby
In light of these events, Premier David Eby just announced a new expert emergency task force at a press conference Monday in Kamloops. He was visiting the nearby North Shuswap Lake area and meeting families devastated by the Bush Creek East wildfires.
“The goal here is that the task force will be working with the public service in partnership with the hard-working people from emergency response from the wildfire service to ensure we’re deploying additional resources, we’re deploying solutions as they’re recommended to us,” Eby said at the conference.
According to the Office of the Premier, the expert task force will focus on “wildfires, drought, heat, floods and other emergencies affecting the province.” The new task force will invite independent voices to weigh in “to determine how we can simultaneously better support those on the front lines and help apply the lessons we have learned in preparation for the next emergency,” according to the government’s press release.
“There’s a great deal of urgency because the scale of this wildfire season was so historic and because we’re going into another season now where we’re dealing with both drought and simultaneously the possibility of significant rainfall.”
Premier David Eby
This will include seeking advice on expanding volunteer recruitment, collaborating with municipal firefighting departments, consulting First Nations, and taking advantage of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
The expert task force will also focus on better integrating community members on the front lines. Earlier this summer, many Shuswap residents resisted the evacuation order, and others said at the time they had felt abandoned by authorities.
The integration plan has already begun, with 17 Shushwap locals having been trained to work alongside the BC Wildfire Service.
“We don’t have the luxury of time between emergencies right now in BC.”
Premier David Eby
Floods Follow Drought, Fire
Amidst the forest fires, experts are sounding the alarm that the next big climate threat is likely on its way: flooding.
“We don’t have the luxury of time between emergencies right now in BC,” Eby said at the press conference, according to CTV News. “There’s a great deal of urgency because the scale of this wildfire season was so historic and because we’re going into another season now where we’re dealing with both drought and simultaneously the possibility of significant rainfall.”
This year’s record-breaking drought across the province exacerbates the flood risk. Dry weather kills off vegetation and exposes soil to the elements without sufficient root systems to absorb rainfall. Fire compounds with drought in what experts call a ‘double whammy’ since fire thrives in drought conditions and leaves soil burnt and further damaged.
“These crises are indeed scary for many people and the government will be there to adapt and immediately support people, no matter what we face, together.”
Premier David Eby
With rainfall “in areas that have exposed soil, either due to drought or forest fires, which are basically the result of the drought, we may wind up with increased flooding,” Tom Pypker, chair of the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at Thompson Rivers University, told CBC News.
In 2021, this occurred when the heat dome, followed by atmospheric rivers, caused some of the worst flooding this province has ever experienced.
With climate change here to stay, the province is preparing for the increased frequency and severity of these environmental events.
“These crises are indeed scary for many people, and the government will be there to adapt and immediately support people, no matter what we face, together,” read the expert task force press release. Details about the task force’s timeline, mandate, and its members have yet to be announced.
