Living Lakes Water Mapping Program Addresses Senate Wildfire Report Recommendation
British Columbia, Canada – Living Lakes Canada is on the ground implementing exactly the kind of innovative wildfire resilience measures that the Senate of Canada is recommending in the report they released today, Canada on Fire.
Our Water Resource Mapping program proactively inventories, measures and maps sources of water for wildfire suppression so that emergency crews can immediately tap into the water supplies they need when a fire strikes. The program also maps helicopter landing sites, access routes, and important buildings.
“Our program was literally tested by fire in 2024 when the Argenta fire struck,” said Paige Thurston, Wildfire program manager for Living Lakes Canada. “Fire crews reported that the water maps cut reconnaissance time by up to two full days. In the end, only one small building was lost to the 20,000-hectare blaze.”
This is why we now have 19 communities on a waiting list for this program. An infusion of funds from federal and/or provincial governments would go a long way to helping us protect these communities.
Learn more about our program here.
Paige Thurston, Wildfire program manager, is available for comment.
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About Living Lakes Canada
Living Lakes Canada is an award-winning water science and stewardship NGO based in the B.C. Columbia Basin that facilitates collaboration in monitoring, restoration, and policy development initiatives for the long-term protection of Canada’s lakes, rivers, wetlands and watersheds. Visit https://livinglakescanada.ca/ for more information.
Contact
Hanneke Brooymans
Communications team lead
587-336-4396
