Parks Canada fire management

Four principles of fire management

The National Fire Management Program contributes to Parks Canada’s mandate through four principles of fire management.

• 1. Mitigation

  Definition: the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something

  • lowering the risk of severe wildfires to local communities and infrastructure by following the seven FireSmart™ disciplines:
    1. education
    2. emergency planning
    3. vegetation management
    4. legislation
    5. development
    6. interagency cooperation
    7. cross-training
  • reducing the buildup of flammable materials such as trees, shrubs, logs and branches
  • creating and following site-specific fire management plans outlining how each park/site will:
    • reduce the risk of wildfire
    • keep communities and infrastructure safe
    • restore and maintain ecological integrity and cultural landscapes
    • provide visitor experiences and public education opportunities on fire management
  • reducing human-caused wildfires through public education and awareness programs, fire bans and restrictions, and fire pit design (engineered metal fire rings and boxes)
  • fostering partnerships with communities, organizations, and various levels of government (ex: Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, Natural Resources Canada, municipalities)
• 2. Preparedness

  • strategically placing fire management personnel and equipment in national parks based off of the level of risk to that site
  • maintaining a centralized equipment cache and ensuring that it is ready to be deployed across the country on a moment’s notice
  • monitoring weather and vegetation conditions (moisture, fuels, etc.) to determine the daily fire danger rating at each site
  • hiring and coordinating helicopters to detect and manage new wildfires
  • moving fire personnel around the country to enhance local capacity, as required
• 3. Response

  • ensuring that each national park and national historic site has a pre-planned response that considers public and staff safety, as well as the ecological, cultural and financial implications of wildfire response
  • meeting Parks Canada’s ecological protection mandate by managing fires for ecological integrity and ecosystem restoration, when appropriate
  • providing resources to support Parks Canada administered parks and sites, as well as to external agencies (Ex: BC Wildfire, Société de protection des forêts contre le feu, AB Wildfire, etc.)
• 4. Restoration

  • restoring and maintaining the ecological and cultural integrity of landscapes through the use of prescribed fire and managed wildfire
  • restoring cultural burning practices within national parks and national historic sites
  • creating climate change-resilient landscapes through the restoration of fire as a natural process

Fire management across the country