Standing their ground

In July 2023, when she was ordered to evacuate her home in Knutsford, B.C., as a wildfire threatened the ranching community, Erika Thorson-Connolly did not leave.

We felt that it was better for us to be here and help support other community members, she said.

Before an evacuation alert or order was issued, her family moved their 46 horses off the property, about 27 kilometres south of Kamloops, where the house had a sprinkler system set up and a water tank in the yard.

Thorson-Connolly is one of thousands of British Columbians whove had their properties placed under an evacuation order in recent years and one of those who have chosen not to follow those orders.

That July, many of her neighbours also stayed behind, hoping to fight the fire and protect their properties and livelihoods.

As the fire drew near, the community stayed in touch via social media. Those with equipment showed up to help, bringing water tanks and in some cases, firefighting experience.

A couple of our neighbours houses, if it wasnt for those people out there helping to fight the fires probably the three homes in particular would have been lost, Thorson-Connolly said.

Mike McCulley, information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service, says residents defy evacuation orders every year.

These are personal decisions that they make. People have their everything there and it means a lot to them.

But, he says, if theres an evacuation order, theres a reason for it.

We dont take those recommendations lightly.

Kristine Andersen stayed behind at her home in Monte Lake, about 47 kilometres southwest of Kamloops, where at least 28 homes and one business were destroyed by the White Rock Lake wildfire in 2021.

At the time, she told CBC that the fire sat on a ridge near her home for two weeks, and that not enough resources were sent to extinguish the blaze.

Andersen doused her property with water from rain barrels, using watering cans to try to save her home. She says she didnt believe there would be any support from wildfire crews, and she didnt see any evidence of firefighters nearby.

No support, no help, anything, she said. You were on your own.

In 2017, members of the Tsilhqotin First Nation also stayed behind to protect their community from multiple out-of-control wildfires raging in B.C.s Interior, because, as Chief Joe Alphonse puts it, they didnt have confidence in B.C.s firefighting strategy.

If wed allowed them to fight fires the way they wanted we would have lost 80 homes.

Its not only defending property that prompts people to stay behind.

When Tim Croston remained in his community of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in June 2023, he acted as the eyes and ears for the many more who left.

Croston provided updates in a Facebook group chat about where the smoke and flames were, relative to local landmarks. He also fed pets, watered plants and checked on other people who stayed behind.

I felt that this was important and I do what I can, he said.

Structures are lost to wildfires every year in B.C., but the data on how many is limited.

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness says the province only started tracking how many structures were lost in 2017, the year the Elephant Hill wildfire swept through B.C.s Interior. They also say there is no data for 2019 or 2020, because the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre was not activated.

The term structure is also used to refer to both homes and outbuildings, like sheds and barns, making it unclear exactly how many homes have been lost.

Data available shows the following were lost to wildfires:

• In 2017, 502 structures were lost.
• In 2018, 158 structures were lost.
• In 2021, 527 structures were lost. This is also the year the village of Lytton, B.C., was destroyed by fire.
• In 2022, eight structures were lost.

McCulley notes that in addition to firefighters, the BCWS also has structural experts who are brought in to advise on how to best save structures.

If we go out and look at properties and the owners have not done pre-firesmarting, maybe theres an old wooden roof, lots of firewood piled up around the house, trees that havent been managed thats probably not a property that were going to look at as a quick, easy defendable target compared to the next property where it might be well firesmarted, McCulley said.

Most experts do not recommend staying behind during a wildfire event, and B.C.s guidance on wildfire evacuation orders states that doing so may result in death.

James Whitehead, a former wildfire fighter and a masters student at the University of Northern B.C., who is now studying rural communities and their response to wildfires, says residents often have knowledge and skills that could help with wildfires.

But because residents are not integrated into B.C.s wildfire response strategy, staying behind also poses some risk, he says.

These include restricting crews from dropping fire retardant or doing controlled burns, because they do not know whether theyll be putting people in harms way, or potentially diverting crews time from firefighting to removing people from unsafe situations.

He says integrating locals to the firefighting strategy has some benefits, such as adding to firefighting capacity and gaining local knowledge.

Alphonse says Tsilhqotin First Nation members local knowledge of and commitment to their land gave them an advantage when they stayed behind to protect it in 2017.

We managed to save everything, we stopped the fire right at our doorstep and we did so without anyone losing their lives or even getting injured.

After the 2017 fires that affected Tsilhqotin lands, the First Nation became the first community to sign a formal wildfire response agreement with the federal and B.C. governments, following which 400 people in the community were trained in firefighting, according to Alphonse.

While locals may have knowledge and even experience fighting fires, Canadian journalist John Vaillant says the way wildfires behave has changed.

In his recent book, Fire Weather, Vaillant looks at the Fort McMurray, Alta., wildfire and how it spread so rapidly. He says that higher-than-normal temperatures have led to more evaporation, creating dryer conditions.

Muskeg bogs that might have been wet before are now dry. Forest floors that might have been sort of damp and dank are now dry as kindling. You drop a match in there and it takes off.

Across the country, half of wildfires are lightning-caused. As of July 31, 2023, the overwhelming majority of the years wildfires had been caused by lightning strikes, according to the BCWS. Lightning strikes are on the rise and expected to increase.

And as the planet heats up, fires will spread more easily.

Whitehead has found that many rural residents have years of experience protecting their properties against threats and disaster.

A lot of the time people in rural areas have grown up and spent their entire life dealing with challenges themselves and being very self-sufficient and have a huge reluctance to rely on government services or other people to protect their own properties, he said.

Whitehead says official organizations and government agencies should do more to come up with plans for people in rural communities who want to help out with fire response.

Thorson-Connolly says she does not regret her decision to stay during the evacuation order.

We really looked at the situation. We came up with a plan, she said, adding her family is packed up and ready to leave if a fire makes its way onto their property.

If we hadnt stayed back, as I said, those neighbours homes would be gone.