Two-year ‘window of opportunity’ exists following catastrophe

The 2003 Kelowna, B.C., wildfires created a two-year window of opportunity in which public and private interest in adopting and improving mitigation strategies was heightened, an Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) study found.
The ICLR released a major study evaluating the measures taken by the City of Kelowna to mitigate the impacts of the September 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire and prevent a repeat of such an event. The fire had destroyed 240 homes in the city.
Dan Sandink, manager of resilient cities and research at ICLR, found through interviewing city officials that various mitigation measures were developed or improved during the two-year window following the fire, including post-wildfire flood risk.
But, litigation brought against the city as a result of the fire served to reduce Kelowna’s ability to implement new mitigation strategies during the window of opportunity, an ICLR release says.
The study identified additional barriers and obstacles that include:
•    Jurisdictional issues regarding bylaws and requirements of fire-resistant building materials and fuel management on Crown lands;
•    The cost of some types of mitigation options and the changing nature of ‘Wildlife urban interface’ zones;
•    Public perceptions of fuel management approaches and public willingness to adopt mitigation approaches on their own property; and
•    Limited support from higher levels of government for mitigation approaches pursued by the city.
But, interviewees believe Kelowna’s experience with the fire, combined with effective mitigation, response and recovery programs will reduce the impact of future wildfires in the area.
“The case study explored in the paper found a municipal staff both willing and able to implement strategies to decrease risk to residents, property and infrastructure,” the ICLR release says. “Emergency management in Canada should be altered to allow those cities that are willing and able to pursue actions to mitigate disaster risk.”