Written by Neil M. Chaudhuri, operations vice president and chief engineer at property insurer FM.
When a wildfire threatens a B.C. business, significant damage can happen without a single flame reaching its property. A road closure can stop deliveries. An evacuation order can halt production. A power outage can disable equipment that keeps a facility safe.
For B.C. businesses, assessing wildfire risk means looking beyond their properties to understand how fires elsewhere could disrupt the infrastructure and services they depend on.
As an engineer who has spent over two decades assessing property risks, I have seen how easily an indirect disruption can lead to a major operational loss – such as a fire damaging nearby power lines, resulting in a power outage, leading to loss due to equipment going down.
This example underscores a real possibility for British Columbia businesses: even if a facility escapes physical damage, disruptions to power, transportation or other essential services still have the potential to bring operations to a halt.
Start with the landscape instead of the property line
Wildfire exposure varies considerably across British Columbia. A mining operation near Prince George, an industrial facility in the Cariboo or a business near the forested slopes surrounding Castlegar may face very different conditions. For business owners across the province, understanding wildfire risk starts with examining the vegetation surrounding their properties, their proximity to forested areas and the terrain in between.
Two hazards deserve particular attention. Radiant heat can threaten a building when a fire burns nearby, with distance and slope influencing the level of exposure. Meanwhile, windborne embers can travel ahead of a fire, entering buildings through vulnerable openings or igniting combustible material around them. These risks demonstrate why businesses don’t need to be located directly beside a forest to be vulnerable.
The assessment should also examine the property itself, including building materials, roofs, vents and other openings, outdoor storage and nearby vegetation. Clearing gutters, removing combustible debris and reducing vegetation close to buildings can lower exposure. Larger sites may also need to consider construction upgrades or exterior sprinkler protection, guided by a qualified specialist. Shutting down ventilation systems and installing wire mesh screens on ventilation openings to prevent embers from propagating inside your facility are also steps worth taking.
Understand the dependencies that could shut you down
Next, look beyond the site. Where does your electricity come from? Do transmission lines or water infrastructure pass through forested areas? Do raw materials arrive by rail or road? Could employees reach the facility during an evacuation or prolonged smoke event? How would suppliers and customers be affected?
These questions are particularly important for B.C.’s mining, forestry and manufacturing sectors, which often depend on infrastructure extending through remote, forested areas. But warehouses, food processors and other businesses relying on electricity, supplies and employees can face similar vulnerabilities.
Identify the systems whose failure would cause the greatest harm, then plan alternatives where feasible. For facilities relying on underwater dewatering pumps, process water pumps, or fire protection systems, confirm that equipment can remain operational during a power interruption. An electric pump may need backup power; a diesel-driven pump needs an adequate fuel supply, particularly if an emergency lasts for days.
Use the quieter months to prepare
The coming fall and winter months provide a strong opportunity for B.C. businesses to review their wildfire preparedness. That review should include inspecting facilities, removing combustible materials from outdoor storage areas, reviewing access routes and testing emergency procedures. Wildfires can occur as early as spring, so waiting until summer to take these steps may be too late.
An emergency plan should make clear who monitors local wildfire conditions and provincial evacuation alerts and orders, who can authorize a shutdown, how employees will be contacted and what steps are required to leave equipment and buildings in the safest possible condition before evacuation. Businesses should also prepare for road closures, evacuation orders or prolonged smoke conditions that could prevent employees from returning for extended periods.
Wildfire risks can also persist once a fire has been extinguished. For example, heavy rainfall on recently burned slopes can increase the likelihood of runoff, flash flooding and debris movement. Businesses near mountainous terrain should consider those secondary exposures as part of their site planning.
No business owner can predict when or where the next B.C. wildfire starts, but they can control how well they understand their exposure, how they protect vulnerable parts of their properties and how prepared they are to respond when operations are disrupted. Wildfire resilience isn’t built during an emergency – it’s built through the decisions businesses make long before one occurs.
