As scorching summer temperatures grip Canada once again, wildfires are tearing across landscapes, destroying homes, forcing evacuations, and pushing communities to their limits. The fires, now more frequent and intense than ever, are the product of decades of fire suppression, rising global temperatures, and changing land-use patterns. But new research from the University of Victoria’s POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project says the key to protecting lives and nature may lie not in fighting every fire but in learning to live with fire.
Published amid one of Canada’s most severe wildfire seasons, the study outlines how beneficial fires those planned and managed for ecological, cultural, and safety outcomes can reduce the risk of catastrophic blazes while restoring fire-resilient landscapes. This includes Indigenous cultural burning, prescribed fires, and allowing some wildfires to burn under supervision.
Historically, fire played a critical role in shaping Canada’s diverse ecosystems, from maintaining healthy forests and watersheds to sustaining Indigenous cultures. But years of aggressive fire suppression have allowed fuels like dry trees and organic debris to build up, setting the stage for today’s megafires.
In 2024, that theory was put to the test. In British Columbia, the First Nation’s cultural burn, supported by the BC Wildfire Service, helped protect lives and homes from the St. Mary’s wildfire. Near Witset, firefighting efforts strategically focused on community protection while letting other parts of the wildfire burn to produce ecological benefits.
Still, opposition remains high. Communities often fear any fire, especially near homes. The report acknowledges that public trust and safety must come first but argues that only through coordinated action across society can Canada transition from suppression to resilience.
Programs like FireSmart offer practical, home-level risk reduction such as clearing flammable debris near houses and building with fire-resistant materials. Yet voluntary measures alone won’t cut it. The study calls for mandatory standards in building codes, landscape planning, and vegetation management to truly reduce vulnerability.
The shift is already underway. B.C. has pledged to reintegrate Indigenous fire practices into land management. National strategies like the Canadian Wildland Fire Prevention and Mitigation Strategy and the G7’s Kananaskis Wildfire Charter echo similar goals.
But the authors stress that government alone can’t solve this. Resilience demands a whole-of-society approach uniting federal, provincial, and Indigenous governments, local authorities, civil society, scientists, and residents. It means empowering Indigenous knowledge, updating policy frameworks, and embracing fire not as an enemy but as a tool for balance.
As another dangerous fire season unfolds, with lives and ecosystems on the line, the message is clear: Canada must stop fighting every fire and start learning to live with fire.