Living Lakes Canada is collaborating with two Slocan Valley communities to inventory, measure, and map water resources, with the goal of supporting wildfire response.
Residents around Winlaw (Pedro Creek to Lemon Creek), and the Red Mountain Road and Enterprise Creek area, are invited to share information about potential water sources and key infrastructure. The project aims to combine local knowledge, water monitoring data, and streamflow modelling to help emergency crews respond quickly and effectively to wildfires.
“This is an opportunity for community members to share the information they want BC Wildfire Service – and other response crews – to have in advance, so it can be incorporated into their response plans,” said Paul Saso, hydrology consultant for Living Lakes.
The final products are comprehensive digital and printable maps identifying water access points, pump deployment sites in creeks or streams, high-pressure standpipes and garden hoses, access routes, important community infrastructure, and potential helicopter landing sites. Even information about hiking trails, quad routes, and decommissioned roads is useful – anything that might help response crews get a head start on fighting a fire.
“We’ve been working with BCWS and have found a way to integrate [our maps] into theirs using the same mapping technologies, to help wildfire crews quickly orient themselves during emergencies,” said Saso.
The projects kicked off this month, with two meetings hosted by Living Lakes representatives on June 10 in Silverton, and June 11 in Winlaw. The Winlaw project spans from Pedro Creek to Lemon Creek, on the east side of the Slocan River. The Red Mountain Road and Enterprise Creek project covers Memphis Creek to Silverton Creek, east of Slocan Lake.
Along with local community knowledge, the project will also glean information from government data sources like BC Freshwater Atlas, Water Survey of Canada, BC Water Tool, and Living Lakes’ Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework.
Paige Thurston, project manager with Living Lakes, said wildfire risk assessments identified the two areas as priorities. They both have challenging terrain that inhibits access to water and the ability to move it across the landscape.
Also, the communities expressed keen interest in participating, and community partners stepped forward to support the process – Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative (SIFCo) in Winlaw, and the Red Mountain Road and Enterprise Creek Emergency Preparedness Society (REEPS).
“These are really community-focused projects,” said Claire Pollock-Hall, program co-ordinator with Living Lakes. “Success relies on community trust, co-operation, and input.”
Resources may be on public or private land. Living Lakes representatives emphasized that information sharing is entirely voluntary and purely for the purpose of wildfire suppression. Data will only be included with the landowners’ consent.
Two versions of the map will be developed – a public map with sensitive information removed, and a professional version accessible only by emergency response agencies and community partners, said Thurston.
Community consultation is taking place now, with field data collection happening from July to November. The draft map will be completed by December, with the final product ready for the 2026 fire season.
Living Lakes was inspired by the success of the first project in Argenta, in collaboration with the Argenta Safety and Preparedness Society. One month after the Argenta water mapping report was published last summer, the Argenta Creek wildfire started. When BCWS arrived, the new resource played a key role in orienting wildfire crews and supporting an accelerated response time – and saving the Argenta community; only one small outbuilding was lost to the fires.
The goal for Winlaw, and Red Mountain Road and Enterprise Creek, is very similar to Argenta, said Thurston. Living Lakes learned from the Argenta project and received advice from BCWS on what was most helpful. That feedback is being integrated as the initiative expands.
For more information, visit livinglakescanada.ca/wildfire. Community members interested in contributing local knowledge can contact wildfire@livinglakescanada.ca. SIFCo and REEPS representatives are also available to assist.
Living Lakes Canada is a non-profit that facilitates cross-sector collaboration for the long-term health of Canada’s lakes, rivers, watersheds and wetlands.
