A study conducted after a fire burned 204 homes in Kelowna, British Columbia in 2003 found that there is a 2-year window of opportunity during which there is an increased interest in adopting new mitigation strategies. Here is an excerpt from an article in canadianunderwriter.ca:
The 2003 Kelowna, B.C., wildfires created a two-year window of opportunity in which public and private interest in adopting and improving mitigation strategies was heightened, an Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) study found.
The ICLR released a major study evaluating the measures taken by the City of Kelowna to mitigate the impacts of the September 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire and prevent a repeat of such an event. The fire had destroyed 240 homes in the city.
Dan Sandink, manager of resilient cities and research at ICLR, found through interviewing city officials that various mitigation measures were developed or improved during the two-year window following the fire, including post-wildfire flood risk.
But, litigation brought against the city as a result of the fire served to reduce Kelowna’s ability to implement new mitigation strategies during the window of opportunity, an ICLR release says.
