The recent Canadian wildfire that destroyed the village of Lytton in British Columbia has reinforced the need for national coordination of disaster readiness and response. Following on the heels of a major heat wave, and only a couple years behind severe flooding in eastern Canada, there is growing pressure from industry and environmental coalitions looking for increased support for building resilience into communities.
Says Craig Stewart, vice president of federal affairs at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, “Canada lacks a culture of preparedness generally,” and observing “a new, beefed-up emergency management agency is required to protect Canadians.”
Dave Clark, fire chief for West Vancouver, says of the actions taken by his community to adopt the recommendations in a Community Wildfire Protection Plan and to bring in a consultant to help prepare for future wildfires, “It’s kinda like going to the doctor … the doctor is going to tell you what’s wrong, and you have to be OK with that. I think that’s where some people are concerned, or some municipalities might be concerned, because they don’t know what they’re gonna find out.”
Source:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/lytton-fire-climate-emergency-preparedness-1.6096370
