BANFF – How can the Town of Banff “fail safer” to keep as many people and structures as possible safe from wildfire?
The term, brought up at a governance and finance discussion Nov. 27 by Banff’s director of emergency and protective services Katherine Severson summed up a discussion focused on creating a more resilient community and minimizing the potential impacts of wildfires.
“[It’s] the idea that there are hazards and risks in our environment that we cannot necessarily prevent or mitigate all of the impacts against,” said Severson. “It’s impossible to believe we won’t come up against this hazard every single year.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s the idea of shifting toward what can we do as opposed to should we just sit back? I think there’s a tremendous amount of things we can do.”
A council-requested update on Banff’s FireSmart initiatives and wildland-urban interface mitigation strategies, following Alberta’s worst-ever wildfire season, emphasizes a whole of government approach.
It follows the release of a May 2023 Public Safety Canada report designed to be a national emergency preparedness and awareness tool. The report includes a comprehensive risk assessment of wildland fire, with the goal of effective wildland fire management being to “learn to live with fire.”
The report states the area in Canada burned by wildland fires has more than doubled since the 1970s and is expected to double again by 2100.
“Fire is an important part of the ecosystem. Had we not urbanized this beautiful park and become part of it – and I know we value it – a fire would have come through this park many times in the last couple hundred years and we would see a different landscape than we see now,” said Severson.
“I find that very empowering when we talk about making some changes, especially within our own town. I feel incredibly encouraged that this would be a natural process. That it’s actually the presence of our town that in some ways has allowed this forest to look different than it would have had we not been here.”
Severson highlighted the federal report and the Town’s wildfire mitigation plans feature several activities related to FireSmart, which provides guidelines and recommendations for wildfire mitigation strategies to the Banff Fire Department and the Town of Banff.
The report looks at protections of critical infrastructure such as water, fuel supply, electricity and communications (emergency alerts), transportation (access and egress) and health facilities. It also looks at ensuring Town plans, policies and bylaws align with FireSmart activities and response capabilities.
“Do we have the right mutual aid agreements? Do we have the proper staff training and equipment in place, and do our residents understand their roles and responsibilities in FireSmart fire mitigation?” asked Severson.
The Town of Banff has a few incentive programs available to residents to support its FireSmart vegetation management plan. These include combustible roof replacement and conifer tree replacement projects, as well as a home sprinkler kit initiative.
The Town offers incentives for replacing combustible roofs, with 120 property owners already using rebates since it was introduced in 2016. There are 205 homes in the community which still have wood shake or shingle roofs.
Historically, Banff fire chief Russ Geyer said the combustible roof program has seen about 25-30 roofs done annually. This year, he estimates there will be about 10 completed by the program.
Similarly, the conifer tree replacement program to help properties be less vulnerable to wildfires is experiencing slowed uptake.
“We have seen 230 conifer trees replaced with deciduous trees through that program to date,” said Geyer, adding there have been up to 80 tree replacements some years. This year has seen significantly less interest, with about 15 trees replaced so far.
However, the rooftop sprinkler kit project, which was introduced early this year, was in high demand.
The initiative subsidizes the kits for homes with combustible roofs or those in higher-risk areas of town at 50 per cent of the $125 wholesale cost – estimated to cost taxpayers $6,250 in 2023, $6,563 in 2024 and $6,891 in 2025 for 100 kits a year.
“It’s kind of a trial program, I would call it, but we purchased 100 kits this year, which is 200 sprinklers with the accessories to make them functional like the hoses and mounts. It was oversubscribed, so we supplemented that program to 130 this year and all have been taken by community members,” he said.
“There’s a balance between mitigation that can be done such as FireSmart and building changes and programs such as sprinklers to combat that on the other side of mitigation work.”
Banff’s FireSmart vegetation management plan includes 42 areas broken into priorities A and B, with A being perimeter fuel breaks or areas where there’s more risk to critical infrastructure. Parks Canada’s vegetation management areas surround the Town’s plan.
Based on priority criteria, the areas of Middle Springs/Cave Ave., Banff Springs/Spray Ave./Bow Falls Ave., Buffalo St./Tunnel Mtn Dr./St. Julien Rd., and Fenlands/Forty Mile Creek have been determined as highest priority for existing maintenance or new treatment.
Geyer said work to maintain a 13-hectare area around Middle Springs will start next week to be finished in time for the 2024 wildfire season. It will be funded by a $127,000 grant secured from Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA).
“Going forward from there, we’ve determined we would like to complete the remaining of the A priority units, which is an additional 17.4 hectares of units distributed throughout the community,” said Geyer. “Those will be on a schedule intended to be completed following winter, so done for the 2025 fire season.”
Geyer estimated a funding estimate of $137,000 would be necessary for that work, with intent to apply for funding from FRIAA.
Priority B areas – a remaining area of 12.8 hectares would be completed for the 2026 fire season at an estimated $103,000 from FRIAA, he added.
“That will include all areas that have been recognized for maintenance or a second pass in the vegetation plan.”
Proposed new fuel treatment areas include 1.77 hectares along St. Julien Road/Way, 1.38 hectares along Tunnel Mountain Drive, a 0.35-hectare parcel near Bow Falls and River Avenue, a 0.38-hectare parcel along Hawk Avenue, a 0.06-hectare area on Cougar Street and a 0.42-hectare area at Marmot Crescent.
Governance and finance committee members received the FireSmart report as information. During service review, Severson said an emergency reserve fund will also be discussed. In December, Parks Canada is expected to give an update to the Town on its fuel management plans.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
