Forestry recommendations not complete

P.E.I. minister boasted of being ‘way ahead’ on fire preparation on May 30

Three days after a P.E.I. minister boasted of being “way ahead” in terms of managing the risks of wildfires in the province’s battered forests, the government has confirmed it has not yet completed an analysis of which forested areas are at highest risk after post-tropical storm Fiona.

Speaking in the legislature on May 30, Environment Minister Steven Myers said his department had implemented 11 recommendations from an emergency forestry task force struck after posttropical storm Fiona.

Myers was responding to questions from Opposition Leader Hal Perry about the province’s wildfire preparation in the wake of out-ofcontrol fires in Nova Scotia.

Perry had warned the province is at a higher risk of forest fires due to increasingly warm summers and the high number of downed trees.

Myers responded by taunting Perry and suggesting past Liberal governments had done little in the area of forestry management.

“I watched you do it. For eight years, I sat over there and watched you do nothing about nothing,” Myers said.

“We’re way ahead on this file.”

Myers also claimed his department had implemented “all 11” of the recommendations of the emergency forestry task force.

On June 2, his department confirmed to SaltWire several of the recommendations remained incomplete.

This included a recommendation to use satellite imagery to quantify the extent of the Fiona damage to P.E.I. forests and a recommendation to identify forested areas with high, medium and low fire risk.

An email from an environment, energy and climate action communications representative confirmed satellite imagery has been obtained, but stated the analysis is still in progress.

The mapping of high-risk areas has also not yet been completed and will be “an internal tool” used for fire response, the email said.

Other recommendations called for chainsaw safety courses for woodlot owners, salvage incentives for cleanup of wood and developing incentives for landowners and watershed groups to aid in removing downed trees near wetlands.

Katie Cudmore, communications representative for the department, confirmed

chainsaw safety courses have been offered to 89 private woodlot owners

Cudmore also said some salvage incentives have been put in place to offset increased costs for clearing hurricanedowned wood.

However, Cudmore said incentives for helping to remove damaged trees near wetlands or on forest roads are still in the development stage.

Cudmore also said the province has implemented new guidelines for mechanical harvesting in Fiona-damaged buffers, another recommendation from the task force.

The task force also recommended building code changes that could allow small buildings to be built with unstamped lumber. This recommendation has not been completed but code changes “are still under discussion with affected departments,” Cudmore wrote in the email.

Cudmore also confirmed the Department of Environment plans to implement all of the recommendations.

HIGH-RISK AREAS

The admission follows a week of questions in the legislature about the province’s wildfire preparedness.

Opposition Leader Hal Perry has repeatedly asked for plans to be tabled about how evacuations would work in the event of a wildfire situation. Perry also asked about the emergency forestry task force as well as plans in the event of a blockage of a stretch of highway near Portage, which he warned could cut off access to West Prince.

Both Public Safety Minister Bloyce Thompson and Myers dismissed many of these questions as “fearmongering” throughout the week.

Speaking to reporters at the legislature on June 2, Thompson said the province’s firefighters and Emergency Measures Organization are prepared for emergency situations.

“It’s important that we keep Islanders calm,” Thompson told reporters.

However, when asked whether he had been briefed about specific high risk forested areas in the province, Thompson confirmed he had not.

“No, just in general just high level. We haven’t gotten into the weeds, as you could say,” Thompson said.

Thompson added “down east” is an area that is concerning, along with northern areas of Stanhope.

Thompson said he planned to meet with officials from the forestry division later this afternoon.

He also said first responders would be tasked with making decisions about if an evacuation is needed, in the event of a wildfire.

“We rely so much on our first responders. They’re trained to deal with evacuations. They’re the ones that we trust - and Islanders trust - in any situation and particularly when we’re talking about fire,” Thompson said.

Speaking to reporters on June 1, Perry said Islanders need to know specific details about emergency preparedness efforts, including evacuation plans.

“Debris left from Fiona in our forest, it is a tinderbox. So there is potential. We need to always be prepared - Islanders need to be prepared,” Perry.