Ashes to Action: Learning to Live with Wildfire

UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, in partnership with UBC Vancouver’s Faculty of Forestry, invites the community to attend a public presentation titled, Ashes to Action: Learning to Live with Wildfire.

About the talk:

When wildfire enters a community, it can leave behind a trail of destruction, devastation and loss.

In 2023, British Columbia experienced one of its worst wildfire seasons on record, with more than two million hectares of land destroyed.

This community presentation will shed light on the profound impacts of wildfires and their tremendous cost to the BC population, emphasizing that recent fire seasons were not an anomaly but a new and escalating reality fueled by climate change.

Following the presentation, there will be a panel discussion and a Q&A session moderated by CBC’s Chris Walker.

The evening will close with a short reception in the lobby.

Speakers:

• Dr. Lori Daniels (Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, UBC Vancouver)
• Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais (Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, UBC Okanagan)
• Dr. Paul Hessburg (United States Forest Service)
• Jason Brolund (West Kelowna Fire Chief)
• Joe Gilchrist (Salish Fire Keepers Society)

This public presentation is part of the Wildfire Coexistence in BC: Solutions Symposium, which brings together British Columbia’s leading wildfire experts and practitioners to highlight the urgent need to develop a transformative vision and implementation strategy for wildfires before it is too late.

This event is sponsored by Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions