Climate change is causing longer, hotter, and drier summers in B.C., increasing the threat of wildfires, even in damper regions like the North Shore. 

Because the District has a significant area where its community meets the forest, which may be especially vulnerable to wildfire damage, DNVFRS has worked diligently over the years to enhance its ability to respond quickly to the threat of wildfire through training, innovation, strategic partnerships, and more. 

In recent years, we’ve added specialized apparatus and equipment to respond to wildfires in the District’s interface areas, including the HydroSub-60 mobile water supply units that enable firefighters to battle blazes where fire hydrants aren’t available. 

During the 2023 fire season, we helped to mitigate the threat of a fast-moving forest fire in our remote Indian Arm communities by establishing a nearby staging area equipped with a HydroSub. 

Our training and specialized equipment were utilized locally during the 2023 season as DNVFRS responded to three wildland/wildland urban interface fires on the North Shore. Two occurred within the District and one within the District of West Vancouver. The DNVFRS also provided substantial assistance to BC Wildfire Services and communities threatened by wildfires across the province in 2023.  

Wildfire Deployments

Here's a closer look at the responses and deployments: 

On the North Shore 

• Horseshoe Bay: DNVFRS deployed specialized resources to aid West Vancouver in managing and controlling the Horseshoe Bay fire that temporarily closed Highway 99. 
• Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve: DNVFRS personnel from our Initial Attack Crew (DNV-IAC), a 20-person unit with enhanced wildfire training, responded and assisted Metro Vancouver Watershed Protection crews in extinguishing a fire in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. DNVFRS also provided resources to conduct the fire investigation. 
• Lynn Canyon: A small fire in Lynn Canyon brought together DNV Parks staff, Metro Vancouver Watershed Protection, and our DNVFRS suppression personnel to quickly contain the flames. 

Around BC

During the 2023 wildfire season, DNVFRS deployed 38 members to fill 62 positions for BC Wildfire Services. Several members deployed multiple times on Fire Engines (Type-5 Wildland Engines and Type-1 Structural Engines), Structure Protection Units, and as single resource command and control positions such as Task Force Leaders, Structure Protection Specialists, and Division Supervisors.  

DNVFRS firefighters fought fires in following nine communities this past season: 

• Anahim Lake (Pelican Lake Fire) 
• Burns Lake (Nadina Lakes Complex) 
• Cranbrook (St. Mary’s River Fire) 
• Fort St. John (Donnie Creek Fire) 
• Keremeos (Crater Creek Fire) 
• Shuswap Lake (Adams Lake Complex) 
• Sparwood (Lladnar Creek Fire) 
• West Kelowna (McDougall Creek Fire) 
• Williams Lake (Raving Creek Fire) 

The 2023 fire season lasted 21 weeks for DNVFRS crews, who assisted with structure defence and structure protection operations across the province.  

Our first team of firefighters deployed to Fort St. John and the Donnie Creek Fire on May 15, and our final team to serve returned on September 27 from the Raving Creek Fire outside Williams Lake. 

With more than 2.84 million hectares of forest and land burned, the 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in British Columbia’s recorded history. 

According to BC Wildfire Services, there are, on average,1,403 wildfires per year in B.C., and in 2023, 2,245 wildfires burned.  

This fire season was emotionally challenging. It will be remembered for the tragic loss of six members of B.C.’s wildland firefighting community who demonstrated remarkable courage, dedication and selflessness. We will continue to honour the memory of Devyn Gale, Zak Muise, Kenneth Patrick, Jaxon Billyboy, Blain Sonnenberg and Damian Dyson.  

DNVFRS’s foremost priority is protecting and serving District residents, and our provincial deployments are undertaken when we can ensure appropriate personnel and resources remain response-ready for the DNV.  

Specialized Wildland Training 

We continue to innovate and enhance our resiliency against wildland urban interface fires in alignment with the District’s Climate Change and Adaptation Strategy and our Fire Strategic Plan.  
 
DNVFRS firefighters participate in regular annual training to ensure readiness to respond to any wildfire threat quickly. In addition, the DNVFRS seeks out opportunities to innovate, implement best practices in the field, and introduce ground-breaking initiatives. Some highlights from our 2023 training programs and exercises included: 

• Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit — DNVFRS collaborated with BC Wildfire Services and FireSmart BC to host the inaugural Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit in 2023. Senior leaders from BC Wildfire Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shared operational lessons learned during the opening days of the event. Following that, over 300 personnel from across the province participated in hands-on training in the District from May 13-14, 2023.  In addition to providing several knowledgeable and experienced instructors to instruct other fire departments from across the province, the DNVFRS participated in the following training: 
• Engine Boss — This course was designed to provide firefighters with the skills and knowledge needed to perform in the position of Engine Boss. Topics ranged from pre-deployment responsibilities to tactics and safety.  
• Strike Team/Task Force Leader — This training focused on wildland structural fire defense, BC Wildfire Service-specific documentation, risk management, tactical operations, and safety. 
• Strike Team/Task Force Leader Advanced — Students were evaluated on their presentations regarding decision-making for tactical operations. The assessment was based on specific knowledge gained from the field, safety zones, expected fire behaviour, water supplies, interface environment, available resources, among other factors.   
• Division Supervisor — This was a senior leadership course that provided the skills and knowledge necessary to lead Task Force leaders in the field under the direction of a Structure Branch Director.  
• Large Water Supply Operations — This session enhanced participants' understanding of using large water delivery systems in the field. 
• DNVFRS Wildfire Engine training — DNVFRS instructors trained and evaluated all members on using and operating its new Type 5 wildfire engines for the initial attack on fires in the wildland urban interface. We also made further upgrades to these critical pieces of equipment that will increase efficiency and response time to all emergencies.    
• HydroSub-60 Mass Water Supply System — Specialty instructors received training on the unique, made-in-the-Netherlands technology that allows firefighters to access large volumes of water in areas where fire hydrants are unavailable. These DNVFRS instructors then trained all members in large-volume water delivery.    
• Command staff training — DNVFRS senior leadership participated in the FDX Wildland Exchange in Lake Tahoe, gaining valuable insight, contacts, and best practices from across North America for fighting wildfires. DNVFRS was the first Canadian fire department to be invited to this conference, and DNVFRS staff were asked to present at the Wildland Urban Interface Conference 2024 in Reno, Nevada.  
• SPP-115 Structure Protection Crew Training for SPUs — Utilizing FireSmart principles along with sprinkler applications, SPP-115 is a prerequisite for any firefighter to be deployed on structure protection crews.  
• Interagency training — To ensure more resilient communities and provide a deeper pool of personnel if required, DNVFRS wildfire specialty instructors continue to deliver training to members of the DNV Parks and Operations departments and local neighbouring fire departments.  

FireSmart Community Program 

Expanding on our FireSmart neighbourhood recognition program, we introduced a new FireSmart Home Partners program in 2022. Ten of our 25 Local FireSmart Representatives team were trained as Wildfire Mitigation Specialists (WMS). They can now assess individual properties and provide suggestions to homeowners to protect their homes from wildfire.  

From January to December 2023, 42 homes received this assessment and detailed report for their property.  

We continue to support 15 communities through the neighbourhood recognition process through 2023, with two earning FireSmart certifications. District residents can find more information about FireSmart assessments and apply online on our Wildfire home hazard assessment webpage.

As part of the public education side of the FireSmart program, we attend numerous community events and community AGMs. We also host our own information and education sessions to deliver FireSmart information and tips to all residents in North Vancouver, while focusing on those living in wildland interface areas. 

We will continue to partner with the community and other agencies on the North Shore to increase FireSmart awareness and community risk reduction.  

This includes meeting weekly with these partners to discuss information about potential fire dangers and preparedness tactics when the fire danger rating reaches high or extreme. 

Profile: Captain Brad Ingimundson – Multiple wildfire deployments across BC  

During the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season, 38 District firefighters were deployed across BC to help protect communities threatened by fast-moving forest fires.  

Several DNVFRS members volunteered for multiple provincial assignments, including Captain Brad Ingimundson.  

As an officer in a five-person structure protection unit (SPU), task force leader and Engine Boss of a three-person wildfire engine crew, he battled four wildfires: Burns Lake, Cranbrook, Adams Lake and Twist Lake in the Chilcotin region.    

Fighting wildfires across an expansive province can mean long road trips – like the 19-hour drive to Smithers last summer – sleeping in rec centres, being away from your family for weeks, fighting fierce walls of flames in the sweltering heat, and, of course, long hours.  

"Depending on the firefight, you might work 18, 19, 20 hours a day," says Ingimundson.  

But Ingimundson doesn’t mind. After his first deployment decades ago, he was hooked.  

"It is tough work, but it’s also gratifying to utilize the wildland firefighting skill set I’ve developed over the years," he says.  

It’s particularly rewarding to provide protection to smaller communities that lack resources to defend their properties, like this summer when they helped save a 200-year-old family ranch in Twist Lake. "We made a difference in those people’s lives," says Ingimundson.  

Residents show their appreciation with heartfelt gestures, like providing homemade lunches and refreshments, holding up thank-you signs for the crews or offering to buy a cup of coffee in the local diner.   

With each deployment, firefighters gain valuable experience and expertise that they bring back to the DNV. As the length and severity of wildfire season continues to grow, Ingimundson plans to be available for future deployments.  

"I became a firefighter to help people, whether in my community or my province. I feel like my skill sets can help people, and I’m willing to step up and do that."