In a place like British Columbia, where 50% of the forest didn't burn this year but a lot of it did, and a whole lot burned last year, we're very likely to be facing another year next year when mountain pine beetle-infested forest is going to burn. What can and should we be doing now, and how can the federal government help manage this before the fire starts?
Should we be cutting swaths around the edge of the dead timber so we already have a buffer for the firefighters? What types of techniques can and should we be sponsoring to mitigate against what really is an inevitable disaster before the forest is burned?