After years spent fighting and studying wildfires, it害羞草研究所檚 become clear to Jen Beverly that Canadians must begin prioritizing how best to evacuate entire communities.

Beverly, an associate professor at the University of Alberta who specializes in fire behaviour research, believes Canada lags in fuel mitigation efforts that might prevent, or at the very least stall, fires such as the one that destroyed neighbourhoods last summer in West Kelowna.

What communities should focus on, she says, is the immediate safety of residents.

害羞草研究所淵ou lose a couple 1,000 homes every year to wildfires. It害羞草研究所檚 horrible. But if you can keep everybody safe and just get them out, then you rebuild and you regroup. If that害羞草研究所檚 the inevitable, then we just have to keep people safe.害羞草研究所�

Beverly and her colleagues Stephen Wong and Amy Kim are the researchers behind a unique study funded by Infrastructure Canada that is building wildfire evacuation simulations for three B.C. communities 害羞草研究所� Nelson, Salmon Arm and Quesnel 害羞草研究所� as well as Canmore and Whitecourt in Alberta.

The project analyzes transportation corridors in each community and will make recommendations not only for how they might be improved in the case of a mass evacuation, but also for potential best practices that might be used elsewhere in Canada.

Beverly said there is a dearth of Canadian research on how wildfires impact people.

害羞草研究所淲e are dealing with a crisis here when it comes to fire impacts to people. We don害羞草研究所檛 have the models that we need. We don害羞草研究所檛 have the science that we need, and we don害羞草研究所檛 have the data. 害羞草研究所� There害羞草研究所檚 nothing to help us prepare really for what could unfold.害羞草研究所�

Part of what makes the study unique is that it mixes various sciences: While Beverly害羞草研究所檚 background is in fire research, Kim is a civil engineering assistant professor at the University of British Columbia whose interest is in long-distance transportation systems.

Wong, meanwhile, works as an assistant professor at the University of Alberta specializing in how humans behave during evacuations.

害羞草研究所淭here has been a good amount done on the fire science side, not so much on the evacuation side from a Canadian context, just a few examples out there of research,害羞草研究所� Wong said. 害羞草研究所淪o I think this is the first time we害羞草研究所檙e thinking about it holistically.害羞草研究所�

The five communities included in the study were chosen by several criteria. None of them have been impacted by wildfires yet, but have been assessed as having high exposure to fire and have populations between 5,000 to 25,000 害羞草研究所� because Canadian wildfires typically impact smaller communities (larger cities wouldn害羞草研究所檛 work with the team害羞草研究所檚 modelling simulations). As well, each community included would possible struggle in an evacuation due to a lack of transportation options.

The locations are also economically diverse, which can vary what types of vehicles are on the roads. Nelson and Canmore are tourist oriented, Wong said, while Quesnel and Whitecourt rely on the lumber industry. Salmon Arm was judged to have aspects of both.

FireSmart experts in B.C. and Alberta were also consulted and could advise on places where residents would be eager to participate in the study.

害羞草研究所淸Whitecourt] is considered a real progressive community when it comes to FireSmart efforts and has a very engaged fire chief,害羞草研究所� said Beverly. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檝e done a lot of work there with fuel management, documenting the problems and so on. That害羞草研究所檚 a community that would embrace this kind of work.害羞草研究所�

How people plan to flee during a wildfire is the focus of Wong害羞草研究所檚 contribution.

He害羞草研究所檒l ask participants questions, such as where they intend to go, what mode of transportation they will use, which route they take and the type of shelter they plan to stay in. Residents will also be surveyed on if they are physically or financially unable to leve quickly.

Wong has previously studied wildfire evacuations in California, and determined that two-thirds of evacuees remained within their county of residents. They also didn害羞草研究所檛 panic.

害羞草研究所淧eople generally evacuate orderly. They might make decisions that, based on their stress and their risk perceptions, might not necessarily be as quote-unquote safe like driving on the other side of the road, but it害羞草研究所檚 usually not under some type of panic condition is the big key.害羞草研究所�

His recommendations to Infrastructure Canada, he added, will be tailored to predicting those behaviours rather than trying to change them.

Kim is studying existing infrastructure and will build simulation models that examine where efficiencies might be found.

On a low-volume road, traffic will flow well, she said as an example, while additional vehicles decrease overall speed, but so do existing traffic controls, such as crosswalks and lights. Geography also matters because it determines where roads can be built as well as their capacity.

害羞草研究所淭he configuration of all those roads and all those egresses out of a city or town will determine how many people can go through, amongst a lot of other things,害羞草研究所� she said.

There are several potential solutions that Kim will be exploring with each community害羞草研究所檚 highways.

Traffic lights may be kept green on major arterial roads, and entry points could be controlled to keep vehicles moving. Two-way lanes might be changed to one way in order to double capacity, but that comes with a need for people or devices present to make sure traffic is flowing as it should. It also doesn害羞草研究所檛 offer a lane for emergency vehicles moving the opposite way.

Kim said simply increasing speed limits isn害羞草研究所檛 a safe option for evacuations. Variable speed limits have been shown to ease congestion when lowered, but increasing a 90 km/h sign, for example, wouldn害羞草研究所檛 work.

害羞草研究所淪peed limits are set with a lot of design criteria in mind. 害羞草研究所� They害羞草研究所檙e set to make sure that most of the driving population can travel that speed safely. So increasing speeds, I don害羞草研究所檛 think that would be a solution or an option.害羞草研究所�

The original deadline for the study害羞草研究所檚 recommendations was March 2024, but Wong said he believes it will be extended by a year.

When released, it will come with recommendations that not only prepare for wildfire evacuations in each of the studied communities but that can also be applied throughout Canada.

害羞草研究所淪ometimes we won害羞草研究所檛 always have the exact answers for everything,害羞草研究所� said Wong. 害羞草研究所淭he best we can do sometimes is prepare and plan as best as we can.害羞草研究所�

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