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Hundreds of firefighters from across the province will be training together in Pentincton to train, collaborate, and learn about new technology and practices ahead of 2025 wildfire season.

Photo by Jaana Björk

Hundreds of firefighters gather to train, learn ahead of 2025 wildfire season

By Richmond Sentinel

Published 11:37 PDT, Mon April 14, 2025

Last Updated: 11:38 PDT, Mon April 14, 2025

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Hundreds of municipal, First Nations and BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) firefighters from across the province are coming together at the Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit in Penticton to train, collaborate and learn about new technology and practices ahead of the 2025 wildfire season.

“We don’t know exactly what this wildfire season will bring, but I want British Columbians to know that we are working hard every day to be ready,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “With year-round operations, cutting-edge technology and strong partnerships with First Nations and local fire departments, we’re putting in the work to protect our communities.”

The Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit brings together First Nations and local government representatives, emergency managers, wildfire mitigation specialists, and firefighters to collaborate and train with the BCWS and discuss the latest developments in wildfire technology, mitigation and prevention.

The five-day event attracts more than 350 wildfire professionals and includes two days of collaborative training between structural fire departments from throughout the province and the BCWS. The training focuses on fireline operations, deployment of fire engines, large water supply operations and overall approach to structure protection in the wildland-urban interface to better protect communities from the threat of wildfires.

Following the training session, a three-day conference for more than 700 municipal and First Nations leaders will focus on wildfire resiliency and community action through FireSmart.

“Learning and training are vital to thriving in high-risk environments,” said Brian Hutchinson, superintendent fire services, BCWS. “With over 350 fire service professionals attending the training summit portion of the conference, we continue to collaboratively build capacity, capabilities and resilience to the impacts of wildfires.”

Representatives from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) will be in attendance this year, further developing the partnership with B.C. In January 2025, BCWS staff were deployed to California to support CALFIRE with expertise and personnel during the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Working alongside Californian crews, BCWS gained valuable experience managing large fires in the wildland-urban interface. Building on this interagency experience, BCWS and CALFIRE are better co-ordinated to fight wildfires in B.C.

Ahead of the upcoming wildfire season, the Province is working to keep communities safe by focusing on all four pillars of emergency management: prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. This work includes:

securing equipment and aircraft contracts;
continuing to implement new technologies and innovation;
focusing on prevention work; and
engaging with local partners, including communities and local equipment operators.

Learn More:

To learn about how to prepare for wildfires, visit: firesmartbc.ca/