Water Resource Mapping to Support Wildfire Response

Living Lakes Canada is collaborating with local communities to inventory, measure and map water resources to support wildfire suppression. We are currently delivering this project in the Winlaw and Red Mountain Road and Enterprise Creek communities in the West Kootenay, and Grasmere and Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it First Nation in the East Kootenay.

PROGRAM GOAL

To pair local knowledge with water data to inform wildfire response in rural areas. Information gathered will be compiled into interactive maps and shared with local fire response organizations and British Columbia Wildfire Service.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Local water knowledge is essential to these studies. By applying our data, in tandem with community knowledge, we are helping communities better prepare for wildfire response. Participation in this program is voluntary, and data from private lands will only be included with landowners' consent.

If you're a local resident in the Red Mountain Road and Enterprise Creek area, Winlaw area, or Grasmere and Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it area, you're invited to complete a short questionnaire and share your water knowledge.

RED MOUNTAIN ROAD AND ENTERPRISE CREEK

See Project Area Map - The Red Mountain Road and Enterprise Creek project area extends from Memphis Creek to Silverton Creek, on the east side of Slocan lake. Learn more and provide input at an upcoming community meeting in Silverton on June 10, 2025.

WINLAW

See Project Area Map - The Winlaw project area extends from Pedro Creek to Lemon Creek, on the east side of the Slocan River. This work is being carried out in collaboration with SIFCo. Learn more and provide input at an upcoming community meeting in Winlaw on June 11, 2025.

GRASMERE AND YAQ̓IT ʔA·KNUQⱠI'IT

See Project Area Map - The Grasmere/Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it project area extends north beyond the community of Grasmere to Canyon Cut-Off Road, and south to Roosville on the Canada/USA border. This work is being carried out in collaboration with the Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it Fire Brigade and Grasmere Community Society.

To learn more about this project, contact wildfire@livinglakescanada.ca.

To share information about water sources for this project, complete this form.

HOW THE PROJECT WORKS

This project is based on a pilot that was rolled out in 2023 in Argenta BC. The pilot combined Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework data with community knowledge and information from the Argenta Safety and Preparedness Society (ASAP) to map locations of water sources available for fire suppression. The resulting digital maps identified all available water sources in the community. Argenta was affected by wildfire shortly after the pilot project was completed, leading to the immediate use of the resources by BC Wildfire Service. The maps were acknowledged for helping to reduce the time spent carrying out field reconnaissance by firefighters.

Data for these new projects will be integrated from several data sources, and both public and private lands throughout the summer of 2025. The final reports and maps will be released in 2026. Data from private land will only be incorporated with landowner consent. Two versions of the maps will be produced: a public version with sensitive details removed, and a professional version accessible only to community partners and wildfire response agencies.

View the report developed for the community of Argenta in 2024 below.