The grandchildren of Annie Kruger remember her lighting an Export A Green cigarette, throwing on her logger's jacket and heading out to set fires near Penticton, B.C.
Before she died she was a firekeeper — as were generations before her in the Okanagan region of the province — and it was her job to use flames to purify the land by setting fire to berry bushes, hillsides and even mountains to renew growth and clear brush and create natural fireguards.
"Our family have been firekeepers for thousands of years," said Pierre Kruger, Annie's son.
Kruger cited several big fires he said his family started hundreds of years ago when lines of Kou-Skelowh people walked beating drums to warn wildlife before setting fire to what's now called Sylix territory.
"We warned the birds and four-leggeds," he said. "My mother taught us every fire is like a snowflake — no two are alike."
Annie kept up the tradition until she died in 2003.
By then, authorities had long cracked down on the practice, pushing fire prevention hard starting in the 1930s, in full-force after 1945. Fire became bad, something to battle or ban. Remember Smokey, the iconic bear who doused fire near forests?
Experts are urging provinces to adopt more Indigenous burning practices because the long crackdown on constructive burning has built up fodder for fires.
How much more is needed?
"How big is B.C.? That's how much should burn every 100 years," said Heathcott, who estimates that in every century prior to this one, most of our 95-million-hectare province burned.
It's not realistic to set fires on that scale in the 21st century, given that many forested areas are now in proximity to populated centres.
And nobody is advocating going back in time, but proponents like Heathcott say say more burning is needed.
A handful of First Nations groups are working to revive the lost practice of fire-keeping, but it's slow, said Pierre Kruger. "We have to re-educate people. None of our families' fires ever got away, but people don't understand fire anymore."
He says his grandmother's view of the megafires of today would be simple: people forgot to use fire.
Proof people are setting B.C forests on fire (failed fire bomb attempt) - VIDEO
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Originally Posted by skibum
