District of Squamish staff are asking Council to endorse a new wildfire strategy with 53 specific actions to protect residents, homes and critical infrastructure.
According to staff, the 2026 Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan, prepared by Blackwell Consulting Ltd., must be adopted by April 30 for the District to remain eligible for up to $400,000 in provincial FireSmart grant funding over the next two years.
The plan is Squamish’s first major wildfire strategy update since 2017. In the years since, rapid population growth, increased tourism pressure, and new development pushing into forested terrain have changed the risk picture considerably.
It was developed in collaboration with Squamish Nation, Squamish Community Forest, BC Wildfire Service, BC Parks, the Ministry of Forests, and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.
The plan rates the overall wildfire threat within Squamish’s wildland-urban interface (WUI) as primarily low to moderate, but identifies serious pockets of elevated risk where steep slopes, continuous forest fuels, and development converge. Such as the steep south- and west-facing slopes in Smoke Bluffs, Hospital Hill and Crumpit Woods areas, which are dominated by Douglas-fir and localized pockets of lodgepole pin growing on dry, well-drained soils, the same conditions which contributed to the 2025 Dryden Creek wildfire.
Many local ignition sources are human-caused. The plan points out unsanctioned target shooting, encampments near forested areas, and recreational activity along trails and forest service roads as recurring sources of ignition.
The plan examines vulnerabilities across multiple Squamish neighbourhoods. Skyridge faces risks from a single access and egress route and continuous forestland upslope. Paradise Valley has challenging egress if bridge access is compromised, and the fire department has flagged water supply limitations there. Brackendale has variable building stock and common cedar hedging, but has good access routes.
Downtown carry risks from limited egress when the railway is operating, and is more densely populated, but most buildings are FireSmart compliant. Valleycliffe is noted for having many houses with interconnected wooden fences, decks, and vinyl siding, connected fences and flammable attachments.
Of the 53 recommendations outlined in the report, 24 are rated high priority, 23 moderate, and six low.
The plan identifies hiring a full-time FireSmart Coordinator as a high-priority step with a three-month timeline. Other high-priority actions include conducting mock evacuation drills for Paradise Valley, Garibaldi Highlands, and Downtown, assessing water supply in areas without hydrant access, and acquiring new fire rescue equipment, including a dedicated water tender and additional engines. The plan also calls on the District to review Squamish Fire Rescue staffing levels, which it says have not kept pace with population growth, and to launch a cedar-hedge-reduction incentive program encouraging residents to replace highly flammable hedges near their homes.
Among the 23 moderate priority items, the plan calls for establishing a fuel management forum to coordinate treatment planning across jurisdictions, strengthening enforcement of the Wildfire Landscaping Management Bylaw, and hosting an annual public open house with the Fire Chief and wildfire experts to share lessons from each fire season.
The six low-priority recommendations include commissioning wildfire behaviour and fire spread modelling, hiring a seasonal FireSmart crew to support vegetation management and help residents with mobility barriers, and completing a detailed wildfire behaviour and spread model.
The report says that funding the plan beyond 2028 is uncertain. In January 2026, the Province restructured its Community Resiliency Investment program, eliminating fuel treatment funding and shifting to a competitive grant process that staff warn will likely be heavily oversubscribed.
