Strengthen Community Resilience with the Wildfire Protection and Planning Solution

Canada’s wildfire seasons are growing longer and more destructive—but for many communities, the real story begins long before the flames arrive, especially in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), where homes and infrastructure meet natural landscapes. In this post, I explore how modern geospatial tools are reshaping wildfire preparedness and why this work matters more now than ever before. And while the technology is powerful, my drive to support resilient planning comes from something far more personal—a reminder that behind every fire map is a family, a home, and a story that can change in an instant.

Wildfires are an escalating threat across Canada, increasingly shaping the way communities plan, respond, and (re)build for the future. Longer, hotter fire seasons—driven largely by climate change—are affecting not only rural and forested regions but also suburban communities and critical infrastructure corridors. The consequences reach far beyond burned landscapes: people lose homes, cultural spaces, livelihoods, and the sense of safety that holds communities together.

For municipalities, Indigenous communities, and regional governments, this heightened risk makes proactive wildfire planning not just beneficial, but essential. Thoughtful preparation can significantly reduce exposure, inform smarter land-use decisions, and help communities recover more quickly when fires do occur. Esri Canada’s ArcGIS Wildfire Protection and Planning solution offers a powerful, adaptable framework that enables these organizations to understand their wildfire landscape, identify vulnerabilities, and take decisive steps that protect both people and place.

🔍 Turning Data Into Action

At the heart of effective Community Wildfire Protection Plan is the ability to translate complex scientific data into clear, actionable insights. ArcGIS equips communities with the geospatial intelligence needed to do exactly that. Through advanced mapping, ArcGIS Deep Learning models, and scenario analysis, the platform enables planners, emergency managers, and leaders to:

• Assess wildfire hazards using spatial datasets, historical fire patterns, fuel conditions, weather trends, and predictive modeling. These insights help identify where fire is most likely to occur and how it may behave, with particular attention to the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), where risk to people and property is highest.

• Identify vulnerable assets, including neighborhoods, water and power infrastructure, key economic zones, cultural heritage sites, and critical evacuation routes. Understanding exposure is the first step toward reducing it.

• Support mitigation planning by mapping defensible space opportunities, analyzing fuel loads, and identifying areas—especially within the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)—that would benefit from vegetation management, emergency access improvements, or community education programs.

Communicate risk effectively through intuitive dashboards and maps that help residents visualize threats and understand the protective measures available.

By transforming wildfire science into usable intelligence, ArcGIS helps communities shift from reactive emergency response to a culture of proactive preparedness—where decisions are informed, coordinated, and grounded in data.

🌐 Integrating Wildfire Planning into Broader Community Risk Reduction

Wildfire hazards rarely exist in isolation. Community risk reduction, which involves the identification and prioritization of risks followed by the investment of resources to reduce them, has become a standard practice in the fire service. As call volumes increase and become more diverse in nature, forward-thinking fire departments are turning to community risk reduction to maximize the impact of their mitigation efforts and better protect their communities. The ArcGIS Wildfire Protection and Planning solution aligns well with Esri’s Community Risk Reduction Solution resulting in a holistic resilience strategy that positions fire agencies to plan for the full spectrum of hazards they face, including those unique to the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI).

The combined framework offers:

• A unified view of community vulnerabilities, consolidating wildfire, seasonal risk prevention activities, demographic, infrastructural, and environmental data into a single decision-support environment.

• Data-driven prioritization, helping leaders allocate funding and resources where they will have the greatest impact—whether that means targeting high-risk neighborhoods, protecting water treatment facilities, or improving evacuation logistics.

• Accessible community engagement tools that involve residents in identifying hazards, sharing local knowledge, validating maps, and participating in preparedness efforts.

This integrated approach ensures wildfire risk mitigation becomes part of a broader vision for community safety, sustainability, and long-term resilience.

🏠 A Personal Reminder: The 2018 Alkali Lake Wildfire

Wildfire preparedness is more than a professional concern for me—it’s deeply personal. In 2018, the Alkali Lake wildfire swept through northern British Columbia, devastating the town of Telegraph Creek and destroying the homes of both my sister and my niece. The physical loss was devastating, but the effects reached far beyond the burned structures. Belongings collected over a lifetime were gone. The community faced displacement, cultural and spiritual loss, social networks were strained, and the emotional upheaval lasted far longer than the flames.

Experiences like this make the need for robust wildfire planning painfully clear, especially for families living in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), where the threat of wildfire is most acute.  They underscore why tools such as ArcGIS are more than technologies—they are instruments of protection, foresight, and community resilience. When communities are equipped to anticipate wildfire risk, model evacuation scenarios, and prioritize mitigation, they stand a far better chance of preventing other families from facing the same loss.

🌱 Building a Safer, More Resilient Future

As Canada continues to experience more frequent and severe wildfires, communities must adopt innovative, data-driven planning approaches. The integration of ArcGIS Wildfire Protection and Planning with broader risk reduction efforts represents a vital step toward that future. These solutions help translate risk into strategy and strategy into action—supporting everything from land-use planning to emergency response, community education, and long-term adaptation efforts.

Ultimately, this work is not just about maps, models, or datasets. It is about safeguarding lives, protecting homes, preserving cultural spaces, and strengthening the sense of place that defines each community —particularly those in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), where proactive planning can make all the difference. With the right tools and a proactive approach, we can reduce risk, support recovery, and build a safer, more resilient Canada.