Why some of the wildfires burning across the Yukon might be beneficial

A recent report out of British Columbia suggests using beneficial fires to build wildfire resilience. In the Yukon, that idea is not new — but finding a way to reap the benefits of fire while preventing devastation is a delicate balancing act. 

As 92 active wildfires burn across the territory, many communities are experiencing some level of risk. 

It is not uncommon for wildfire evacuees and those affected by wildfire smoke to experience anxiety and stress. And wildfires can cause severe damage to homes, businesses and local economies. Last year's devastating wildfire in Jasper, Alta., cost an estimated $1.23 billion in insured damages, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. 

However, the report on beneficial fire in B.C. from the University of Victoria's POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project says if communities can find a way to live with fire and, in some cases, use it to their advantage, they can help protect themselves and ecosystems from future devastation. 

The intensity and frequency of wildfires is increasing with climate change, but in the Yukon's boreal forest, fire has always been a part of a healthy ecosystem. Some Yukon First Nations say they have been living with and adapting to wildfire on the landscape for generations. 

What is beneficial fire?

According to the report, beneficial fire is "planned or unplanned wildland fire that has positive effects on ecosystem processes and functions and has acceptable risk to human communities."

The report adds that beneficial fire can include "cultural fire, prescribed fire and managed fire." 

Andrea Barnett, a project manager and analyst for the project, says the report provides a framework that communities can apply to their unique needs to understand how they can use beneficial fire to build wildfire resilience. 

"They need to understand fire history. They also need to understand what their risks are and what kind of risks they're willing to subject their community to and what kind of risk they're not willing to [take]."

Ecological benefits of fire

Jill Johnstone, a forest ecologist and research affiliate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Yukon University, says that forest species in the Yukon are adapted to wildfire.

"This is a really good indication that fire is an essential part of this landscape," Johnstone said. "By and large, fire is a productive part of the forest cycle here in the northern boreal region."

However, Johnstone says that in recent years climate change is causing more frequent and severe wildfires that are harmful to ecosystems.

As wildfires occur more frequently, the natural wildfire cycle, which is typically 50 to 200 years, is being disrupted and that affects the ability of species like conifers to re-establish in the forest after a fire, she said.

And the more severe the fire, the more carbon is released into the atmosphere from the combustion of organic material. That's where beneficial fires come in.

"A beneficial fire might not just be one that burns in a part of the landscape where we want it to burn, but it might also be one that doesn't emit a lot of carbon."

Johnstone says prescribed burns can be used early in the spring when the soil is wet, to prevent more severe fires that emit more carbon, like ones that occur in the summer when the soil is dry.

Beneficial fire in the Yukon

Yukon Wildland Fire Management already uses beneficial fire, like prescribed and cultural burning, as a "tool" to mitigate the risk of wildfire, said Haley Ritchie, a fire information officer.

Ritchie says in some cases, they will also allow beneficial fires to burn instead of suppressing them. 

"So if a fire is burning in the wilderness zone, whenever possible we want to let it fulfill its natural role in the boreal forest," she said. "And what that can help do is reduce really large catastrophic fires."

Sean Smith, chief of Kwanlin Dün First Nation, says fire is a part of his people's "cultural history."

"I strongly know and understand that people back then knew it was a very powerful tool, but it can also be a very big danger too."

Smith says that with climate change, the threat of wildfires is a concern in his community.

"We have a forest around us," he said. "There's some pretty thick areas which are very heavily wooded, have a lot of dead trees and deadfall…. That's the fuel that fuels fires."

In an effort to protect their community and incorporate their cultural values into fire management, Kwanlin Dün First Nation released a Southern Lakes Wildfire Strategy in partnership with Carcross/Tagish First Nation and the Yukon government.

The strategy outlines values they want to protect and suggests ways to prevent future wildfire, including using beneficial fires like prescribed burns as a tool.

John Fingland, a Champagne & Aishihik First Nations citizen and historian says that in the past his people would often set fires in the forest that would become wildfires. 

"When we were travelling, if we were coming to another village and wanted to announce ourselves, we would light a tree on fire. And that showed two things, one that people are coming, and secondly, because it was announced that you felt safe."

Fingland says that fire suppression started when settlers arrived. 

"It's created a problem for the villages because as you can see now when fires start they are wildly out of control because of the amount of suppression we've had."

Now, Champagne & Aishihik First Nations, Kluane First Nation and Kluane National Park are working together on a project to restore the forest ecosystem through prescribed burning.

Fingland says the community is in support of the project, but when it comes to fire, even beneficial ones, there is always some fear associated with it.

"What's the risk that can come from that?" he said. "It's something that has to be done, we just want to make sure that they're doing it right."