Parksville council endorses Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan

Plan finds risk of smoke and embers affecting city

Parksville council endorses Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan Published 5:35 am Monday, July 13, 2026 Parksville council has endorsed a Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan — the first step towards integrating its recommendations into city plans and policies. Community Wildfire Resiliency Plans include wildfire threat mapping and follow the BC FireSmart framework and provincial wildfire risk reduction objectives, according to a report by Fire Chief Marc Norris, of Parksville Fire Rescue. The city hired Frontera Forest Solutions to develop the plan, using FireSmart grant funding.

The plan found Parksville “is at an overall low risk of devastating wildfire igniting within the city, however pockets of medium and high-risk locations do exist within the city’s wildland urban interface.” The biggest risk was wildfires burning in “high-risk areas” could carry smoke or embers into Parksville. Vulnerabilities identified were seasonal increases in fire-related activity linked to human behaviour, including deliberate ignitions and an increased risk near people and infrastructure, potentially in areas in which ignitions are harder to access or detect.

Also identified was the complex nature of a potential evacuation, including tourists, routes out of the city and “vulnerable populations”. Evacuees from the city and surrounding area could put pressure on the city’s services, infrastructure and coordination efforts. Community Wildfire Resiliency Plans are the next generation of Community Wildfire Protection Plans, with the goal of the new framework being to help communities develop a comprehensive and science-based approach toward wildfire risk reduction, according to Norris’s report.

The plan will be shared with the Regional District of Nanaimo, as Parksville Fire Rescue serves part of Electoral Area G. The regional district has wildfire resiliency plans for each of the electoral areas. Council authorized staff to consider the plan’s recommendations, establish priorities and include it in the financial planning process based on priority.

Council also voted to use the plan to inform grant applications and other funding opportunities. RELATED: Parksville Fire Rescue calls tick up in 2025 and 2026