Wildfire not as big a threat to B.C. Interior wildlife as you might think

If you are worried wildlife that roams the forests of the B.C. Interior is suffering with the burning of their habitat, you'll be glad to hear it's "not the killer it's portrayed to be," according to the head of WildSafe B.C. It can even be beneficial.

WildSafe B.C. provincial coordinator Frank Ritcey says typically during a forest fire larger animals escape and although smaller animals have a more difficult time escaping, animals have evolved with forest fires and are adept at dealing with them.

"Generally the fire is not the killer it's portrayed to be," Ritcey says. "It's not all doom and gloom."

He says wildlife populations are generally not negatively impacted by wildfires and don't head to urban areas when the habitat is destroyed.

"It's not like a fire comes and a bear thinks 'OK let's head into town now.'"

Ritcey stresses it's very important people do not leave food and water out for wildlife on the move as they escape the fires, as some people have been doing. It may entice them to stay in and around urban areas to become food-conditioned and human-habituated. These animals can end up being destroyed because of the threat they pose to human safety.

He says many species have evolved with forest fires and fire is actually needed for their ecosystems to thrive. From a wildlife prospective, fire isn't a bad thing because after forest fires there can be long-term benefits to their habitats.

Ritcey points to Well Gray Provincial Park as an example. Before a huge fire in the 1920s there were no moose left in the park. In the years that followed the fire, willow trees and different shrubs sprung-up created a great habitat for moose, and by the 1940s the park was once again abundant with moose. He says as no massive fires have happened in the park since and moose numbers are on the decline.

The same is true for the mountain goats in the Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park, according to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. Before the 2003 wildfire the number of mountain goats in the park was estimated at 18 to 20, but 15 years later there are over 100 living in the park.

The ministry says while larger animals escape the fire, smaller animals that burrow go deep underground where temperatures are normal even if the surface temperature is several hundred degrees. The ministry says the number of animals that may die as a result of forest fires is outweighed by the long-term benefits to their habitat.

Ritcey says the reality of how animals adapt to wildfires is not at all like a Disney movie.

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