The Director of Provincial Operations for British Columbia's Wildfire Service says BC needs a holistic, large-scale program to reduce fire risk.
Cliff Chapman says planning is underway for how new funding, allocated in this year's provincial budget, will be used to increase the service's capacity.
"We need to start in people's backyards, and then it goes to the neighbourhood. And then it's the crown land adjacent to communities and then all the way out into the forest land where we all love to work and play in. It needs to be a holistic, risk reduction program across the province."
B-C's budget released last month allocated 145-million dollars over three years for Emergency Management B-C and the B-C Wildfire Service to kickstart the province's transition to a more "proactive approach" to wildfire preparedness and response.