Municipal Government
Why should municipal governments participate in the WCIR program?
More needs to be done to make communities wildfire resilient. By better understanding how wildfires spread and what characteristics make structures resilient to wildfire, we can coexist with wildfire on the landscape. After the 2016 Horse River Wildfire burned through the community of Fort McMurray, Bruce Mayer, retired Assistant Deputy Minister of the Forestry Division in Alberta’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry deployed a research team to investigate the factors that contributed to the disaster. He concluded,
“The early deployment of qualified research teams across Canada during wildfires that impact communities, will facilitate how and what data are collected, analyzed and shared. This will further our knowledge and understanding of how wildfires enter communities, and why some homes burn, and others do not.”
Learning from and preventing wildfire disasters requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. We are pleased to introduce you to a new community-focused research initiative called WCIR (Wildfire Community Impact Research) to build evidence to create wildfire resilient communities.
If you have any questions about this program or would like to discuss your involvement, please contact us at wcir@fpinnovations.ca .
Who is conducting the research?
FPInnovations Wildfire Operations (https://wildfire.fpinnovations.ca/) provides wildfire investigation services. We strive to deliver practical solutions so Canadians can coexist and safely work and live with wildfire. FPInnovations provides evidence-based research to reduce the risks and negative impacts of wildfire on communities. This requires the collection of empirical data using a repeatable process. A standardized methodology is being developed and will be utilized for WCIR research, while recognizing that adaptation may be necessary to capture the unique characteristics of each incident. Agencies may also have additional data requirements based on their specific needs.
Current services provided by FPInnovations Wildfire Operations may include assessments of how wildfire entered and spread through a community, fuel treatment efficacy assessments, data collection and analyses to determine why some homes burned and others did not, wildfire behaviour documentation, and wildfire spread chronology.
The focus to date has been on the physical wildland and urban wildfire impacts. The complex economic and social wildfire impacts are also important and need to be addressed. As the WCIR program evolves, effort will be made to integrate a multi-disciplinary approach to link physical and social research.
How can you be part of this research?
If a wildfire disaster occurs in one of your communities during the 2025 wildfire season you can reach out to FPInnovations, or FPInnovations may contact you regarding post-wildfire research to meet your needs.
To successfully implement WCIR, we will be looking for the following assistance:
- Early site access to impacted communities to minimize the loss or damage of evidence such as structure condition at time of impingement and ember exposure characteristics.
- Integration of WCIR data collection teams in incident command to facilitate clear and effective communications, increase safety, share data, provide rapid delivery of research findings, interview homeowners, and when and where possible, share resources.
- Contact information for key response personnel for interviews.
- Access to maps and other spatial data subject to use conditions.
- Access to suppression data if available subject to use conditions.
- Access to photos and videos if available and subject to use conditions.
If you have any questions about this program or would like to discuss your involvement, please contact us at wcir@fpinnovations.ca.