BCBusiness

GO FIGURE by Michael McCullough THE VIEW FROM THE DECK We kick back and take a look at the numbers on vacation properties in B.C. 18 G o F i g u r e : A d o b e S t o c k / P a k o n ; A d o b e S t o c k / P r a s t- H F ; A d o b e S t o c k / Ve c t o r s l a b ; A d o b e S t o c k /s i d ik ; A d o b e S t o c k / M u h a m m a d B C B U S I N E S S . C A J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 24 11% of Canadians currently own a cabin. A similar share aims to buy one. The most sought-after attributes in a vacation property are waterfront (77%) and access to recreational activities such as skiing or water sports (59%) . WHILE WE IMAGINE THE VACATION HOME AS A PLAYGROUND FOR KIDS, ONLY 26% ARE OWNED BY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN. MOST CANADIANS' VACATION HOMES ARE LOCATED IN CANADA, BUT 21% ARE OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY. The median price of a single-family home in B.C.'s vacation hot spots at the end of 2023 was $1,086,500, ↑ 0.3% year-over-year. Single-family waterfront properties averaged $2,295,400, ↓ 8.7%. Vacation condos cost an average of $415,000, ↓ 6.3%. Those pressure points are rapidly proliferating. The 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in B.C.'s his- tory, burning more than 2.84 million hectares—double the previous record of 1.35 million hectares set in 2018, and 10 times the 20-year average. The fires forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate affect- ed areas; hundreds lost homes and businesses. Six firefighters lost their lives. The estimated cost of wildfire suppression was a whopping $817 million. With longer fire seasons and drought conditions persisting through winter, the push toward prevention and preparedness is quickly grow- ing, says BC Wildfire Service research and innovation officer Justin Nicholas. And while tech will never replace old-fashioned pumps, hoses, shovels and water bombers, it is increasingly being used to give agencies like the Wildfire Service the upper hand in the fight against fires. This season alone, new software will help predict fire growth and behaviour, improved satellite devices will offer better communications and a trial with night vision imaging will help spot fires after dark. The Wildfire Service is also working with Bourbon- nais to test the UBCO sensors in prescribed burn areas to deter- mine how they might employ them in future. "Fires are still suppressed by our staff on the ground. That is the core of our orga- nization. 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," explains Nicholas, who says that conditions can vary wildly even over relatively short distances, so having finer ground-level data could make an enormous difference. Meanwhile, improvements to cell and satellite connectivity " 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." —Mathieu Bourbonnais, researcher and assistant professor, earth, environmental and geographic sciences, UBC Okanagan are helping to fuel the shift. "It doesn't matter if we have weather sensors out in the middle of the forest if they can't connect," says Nicholas. "To fully leverage these new tools and technologies that are arriving to the market, that connectivity is required—and it continues to be further developed, especially in the northern half of the province where it's not as widespread." Back at UBCO, Bourbonnais is working on the AI side of his sensor project, which will take data from various on-the-

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