UBC Okanagan is presenting the Wildfire Coexistence Symposium from June 3-5 in Kelowna.
Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais isn’t going to rehash what everyone in the Central Okanagan already knows about wildfires when he opens the three-day Wildfire Coexistence Symposium in Kelowna next week.
The Assistant Professor in UBC Okanagan’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences says the event is tailored toward innovative wildfire solutions.
“We want to move beyond recognizing the problem to finding and implementing solutions that address the whole-of-society issue of wildfire,” he says.
“This is about understanding what’s happening around our communities and making us better prepared.”
Dr. Bourbonnais as well as his colleague and co-presenter from UBC Vancouver, Dr. Lori Daniels, have tailored the symposium to as broad an audience as possible. They will touch on new technology and new tactics.
They’ve designed the symposium to be engaging, with panels, moderated questions and audience interaction with over 20 experts in various fields.
“We want to bring together different segments of society, including First Nations, health sciences, forestry, wildlife ecology, the insurance sector and the economy to discuss solutions,” Dr. Bourbonnais says.
They’ll also take participants to sites affected by recent wildfires to show both worst-case scenarios and successful mitigation efforts. It’s meant for anyone living in the wildland-urban interface, firefighters, policymakers, foresters or urban planners, offering practical solutions for wildfire resilience.
Dr. Bourbonnais will also update participants on the research happening around the Okanagan. His team is building affordable sensors and distributing them to provide accurate, real-time data closer to the community.
For example, during the McDougal Creek wildfire in 2023, there were only a handful of weather stations in the entire valley providing operational information. UBCO had 15 of its sensors in the middle of the fire.
Six of them didn’t survive, but they provided valuable data until they were destroyed, showing wind speeds, temperatures and other critical information.
“This data helps us understand where our highest risk areas are around Kelowna and how to address them,” he says.
“Our team has been collecting data and validating results for three years as we continue to build and develop our system of affordable, easily deployed sensors. The system is filling real gaps in our understanding of wildfire risk and how we can use the data operationally with wildfire management agencies and fire departments.”
The June 3-5 event is happening in Kelowna. Free tickets to the Monday night event, Ashes to Action: Learning to Live with Wildfire, are moving quickly. Full symposium passes are still available.
“Knowing as much as possible about wind speed, wind direction and temperature on the ground helps shape strategies,” says Dr. Bourbonnais. “For proactive work, it’s about identifying where we see the highest risk around the Okanagan and getting ahead of it.”
Learn more at wildfire-symposium.forestry.ubc.ca.
