Cultural and Prescribed Fire
January 02, 2025 | Source: British Columbia
Cultural and prescribed fire is one of many land stewardship practices that can help reduce the intensity of naturally occurring wildfires while returning an integral and culturally significant process to the land base.
The Province’s use of the term “cultural and prescribed fire” is intended to acknowledge Indigenous cultural burning as distinct from prescribed burning, while also acknowledging the intersection of Indigenous and Western fire management as both are practiced today.
The importance of fire
Fire is a natural, normal process for many ecosystems in B.C. and is necessary to maintain a healthy forest and the diversity of plant and animal life.
The history of aggressive and highly effective wildfire suppression in the Province has resulted in:
- Significant build-up of forest fuels
- Greater tree encroachment on grasslands
- ‘In-filling’ of once open, dry forests
This has both increased the risk of devastating wildfires and negatively impacted biodiversity and forest health.