Building community resilience to wildfire risks in the Robson Valley, British Columbia, Canada

This thesis examines how rural communities are at risk to wildfire hazards through a case study of the Robson Valley, British Columbia, Canada. The research is guided by a vulnerability approach, which conceptualizes risk as a function of how a community is exposed and sensitive to a hazard and its capacity to adapt. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with policymakers, forest professionals and emergency managers alongside community meetings in three rural areas, participant observation, and analysis of secondary sources. The findings show that while most communities in the Robson Valley are not directly at risk from extreme wildfire hazards, they are indirectly exposed and sensitive to secondary and tertiary impacts, due to a single power transmission and road transportation route, that are both highly exposed to wildfire hazards. The centralization of government services has led to a change in the ways that wildfires are suppressed, which can be incongruent with diverse land values and attitudes about responding to hazards held by longtime residents and local First Nations. This thesis concludes with recommendations for how to better engage rural communities in fire prevention and suppression including the creation of a community champion position and improved legislation allowing for the participation of rural residents in fire suppression operations.