Pixabay photo credit: ELG21!
Corner Brook was one of three communities in Canada to take part in the development of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre’s (CIFFC) national Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan. At this week’s public meeting, Councillor Sherry Dean spoke about why the city was selected. Although Corner Brook has historically experienced relatively few significant wildfires, the City’s location within extensive forested landscapes requires a proactive approach to managing future wildfire risk. The Plan concludes that Corner Brook’s overall wildfire risk is currently low to moderate, but identifies higher-risk areas where development borders continuous forest fuels. It also recognizes that climate change, longer dry periods, and forest health concerns such as spruce budworm are increasing future wildfire potential.
Dean says one of the key findings in the Corner Brook Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (CBWRP) is that overall wildfire exposure is low to moderate, with higher exposure along the forested edges of the city. Approximately 86% of developed properties are classified as Nil to Low exposure for short-range ember attack (100 m), while 14% fall within Medium to Extreme exposure. Approximately 59% of developed properties are classified as Nil to Low exposure for long-range ember attack (500 m), while 41% fall within Medium to Extreme exposure.
The greatest wildfire exposure is in southern and southwestern parts of the city, or Elizabeth Street, Wheeler’s Road, and the new hospital area.
