This study integrates spatial analysis and municipal building permit data to evaluate structural exposure within British Columbia’s Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), and assess post-wildfire rebuilding trends following the McDougall Creek (2023) and Lytton (2021) wildfires. Using GIS-based overlays of building footprints, fire perimeters (1917-2024), and WUI boundaries, this research quantifies the number of structures at risk and their historical exposure to wildfires. Additionally, municipal permit datasets are analyzed to determine whether rebuilding efforts have integrated risk-adaptive strategies. Findings indicate that 98% of all structures in BC fall within a 1 km WUI buffer, with 12% located in historically burned areas. Post-fire reconstruction analysis reveals extensive in-situ rebuilding with minimal relocation efforts, raising concerns regarding long-term wildfire resilience. Current building regulations lack wildfire-specific mandates, while insurance-driven incentives are emerging as the primary mechanism encouraging fire-resistant construction. These findings highlight the urgent need for enhanced WUI zoning policies, fire-resistant nationally regulated codes and construction standards, and strategic land-use planning to mitigate future wildfire risks.
Cameron et al. (Wed,) studied this question.