SOURCES: ROYAL LEPAGE, RE/MAX CANADA, STATISTICS CANADA, GOVERNMENT OF B.C., FIRESMART CANADA
19
B C B U S I N E S S . C A
J U LY/A U G U S T
2 0 24 F r o m t o p c e n t r e t o r i g h t : B C W il d f ir e S e r v i c e
AN 8,700-SQUARE-FOOT
HOME IN WHISTLER
WITH AN 82-FOOT
INFINITY POOL SOLD FOR
$32 million
LAST JULY, SETTING A
PRICE RECORD FOR THE
RESORT MUNICIPALITY.
Projected revenue of vacation
rentals in Canada in 2024:
US$1.9 billion
IN B.C., STRS ACCOUNTED FOR 1/5 OF ALL
ACCOMMODATIONS REVENUE IN 2021. IN
WHISTLER, WHICH HAS SOME OF THE HIGHEST
STR RATES IN CANADA, THEY REPRESENTED
62.3%.
In part due to rising wildfire and
flood risks, the average cost of
home and mortgage insurance
rose 39% over the five years to
December 2023.
15.2%
14%
12%
10.1%
7%
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
WONDER WHY COMMERCIAL
HOTEL OPERATORS ARE UP
IN ARMS OVER AIRBNB?
Short-term rentals (STRs) as a percentage
of Canada's accommodation services
subsector more than doubled
between 2017 and 2021:
"
Fires are still suppressed
by our staff on the ground.
That is the core of our
organization. But if we are
able to more accurately
understand conditions on
the ground, and the potential
of an incident to
grow or behave in
certain ways, then
we can be more
specific with
our allocation
of resources."
—Justin Nicholas,
BC Wildfire Service research
and innovation officer
HEAT WAVE
Technology is not a replacement
for traditional pumps and hoses,
but it is helping fire fighters com-
bat forest fires
ground sensors and combine
it with information about
everything from lightning
patterns to fire history, then
predict conditions in the areas
between sensor locations. That
could not only help communi-
ties (especially those in rural
and remote locations) detect
and fight fires when they
happen, it could also tell them
where they need to apply miti-
gation measures like thinning
and prescribed burning.
So far, the project has
piqued the interest of fire ser-
vices, industry, First Nations,
insurance companies and oth-
ers in B.C., and Bourbonnais
hopes to introduce it nation-
ally within the next few years.
"The thing with fire is the
risk is never zero. There's
always going to be risk. But it's
about changing the conditions
of how that fire might arrive on
your doorstep," he says. "So if
we can help with some of that
planning and strategy, it allows
us to build landscapes and
communities that are more
resistant for when the fire does
come—and maybe it won't
have the same impact."
