You likely don't know his name, but Quentin Schmidt was a driving force behind the creation of Revelstoke's Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (CWRP) over the course of last year.
Schmidt, a forestry consultant with North Vancouver-based Blackwell, enjoys leisurely visits to Revelstoke in his own time, but spent about nine months in 2024 getting to know the city in a different way — from a fire safety perspective.
Assigned to prepare an extensive report to replace Revelstoke's 2015 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), Schmidt worked with a second consultant to deliver in January what became a 123-page manual guiding the genesis of the city's FireSmart committee.
In March 2024, Schmidt began a comprehensive study of wildfire programming in the City of Revelstoke, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) and beyond. He applauded the CSRD's strong FireSmart work, offering free home assessments and yard waste pickup days, and was particularly pleased to see its landfills waive residential yard waste fees earlier this year.
"I think that's a very good program," he said. "When these roadblocks (to debris disposal) get removed, it's just that much easier."
Schmidt also corresponded with Parks Canada, BC Wildfire and B.C.'s Ministry of Forests, and even reviewed CPKC's vegetation management plans.
He credited FireSmart BC for doing a thorough job in recent years putting together digestible info for communities' safety, education and empowerment. He also recognized Parks Canada for taking on the huge initiative following Revelstoke's 2015 CWPP to reduce forest fuels in Mount Revelstoke National Park and improve communication channels with locals.
Dedicating one full week to fieldwork, Schmidt highlighted that Revelstoke's wildland-urban interface has historically faced challenges with planning fuel breaks and other wildfire mitigation strategies, due to its complex mix of topography, land ownership and fire fuel types.
According to the CWRP, C-5 fuels that include mature cedar-hemlock stands are present on more non-private land in Revelstoke than any other fuel type. However, Schmidt noted these fuels are modelled to have one of the lowest fire intensities, especially compared to C-3 fuels such as young and dense conifer stands that occur the least but can turn "explosive" in fire.
Along with making his own observations of Revelstoke's wildland-urban interface, Schmidt also worked to revive goals of the CWPP that remained relevant. By talking to stakeholders, "we got a pretty good idea of the recommendations that would need to be carried forward," he said.
In total, Schmidt's consulting team produced 37 recommendations for the City of Revelstoke and other stakeholders, and encourage all parties to collaborate on them.
"We do believe anything that's recommended in the plan could be tackled in a five-year window," he said, adding some can even be carried out immediately.
That said, Schmidt recognizes the CWRP is a large document, doesn't intend for all 37 recommendations to be implemented, and emphasizes that none of them are necessarily "one-and-done."
"The recommendations are very much just a toolbox of options that Revelstoke can open up over time," he said.
For the 23 fuel treatment areas he identified, for instance, two of which the FireSmart committee has already made moves toward, Schmidt said revisiting these areas and building on work there after they're first treated will be important. How often maintenance will be needed in the long run depends on factors including how open or closed tree canopies are, how much vegetation overstory or understory there is, and whether the areas are vulnerable to wind or destructive species such as Douglas-fir beetle.
“Fuel management isn’t necessarily a one-and-done thing, as forests continue to grow and fire hazard will fluctuate over time," Schmidt clarified by email.
As well, a message he conveyed throughout the CWRP is that residents themselves have a big role to play, too, not just to better protect their house from higher-risk vegetation, but also to make wildfire scenarios easier and safer for emergency responders to navigate.
"Those professionals are out there doing there best to save homes in an infrastructural fire," he said.
Vegetation is one of the leading causes of structural damage during wildfires, Schmidt said. While residents sometimes may incorrectly assume they're expected to clear out their entire yard, simply removing higher-risk vegetation is a lower-cost practice that most residents can and should control.
FireSmart BC's Landscaping Guide is one resource available to help homeowners determine how to treat and maintain their yards. This 29-page manual breaks down which vegetation types are suitable based on a property's hardiness zone — the tolerance of plants to harsh temperatures — and also considers elements such as water usage and pollinator species. The guide is available at firesmartbc.ca/resource/landscaping-guide.
Despite how long and detailed the CWRP is, Schmidt is pleased to hear that even locals not on Revelstoke's FireSmart committee are engaging with and learning from it. He said this gives him hope for the future of Revelstoke's wildfire preparedness.
"The community's in good hands for moving forward with some of these initiatives."
Revelstoke's CWRP is available at revelstoke.ca/2022/FireSmart.
