Third Party: Forest Practices Board
APPEAL NO. 2016-WFA-002(a)

CNR appealed a Wildfire Act determination ordering it to pay fire control and other costs relating to damage or destruction to Crown resources. The area affected by the wildfire contained timber, grass and was designated as mule deer winter range, scenic area and an old growth management area. The Board joined the appeal to make submissions on the determination of damages for “other forest land resources” and “grass land resources” in the Wildfire Regulation. Specifically, the Board argued that these terms should be interpreted in a non-mutually exclusive manner which would allow the Province to recover damages for both, rather than adopting an either/or approach adopting the polygon classification based on the government’s Vegetation Resource Inventory system. The FAC did not agree with these submissions.

Appeal allowed.

FAC Decision: http://www.fac.gov.bc.ca/wildfireAct/2016wfa002a.pdf