Kira Hoffman: Fighting Fire with Fire

Fire has always been part of this land — the question now is how we live with it.

Keynote speaker Dr. Kira M. Hoffman is a former wildland fire fighter, fire ecologist, fire practitioner, and National Geographic Explorer. She is a UBC research associate and a member of the UBC Centre for Wildfire Coexistence. Dr. Hoffman’s work challenges the idea of fire as purely destructive, reframing it as a cultural and ecological ally. Her talk will cover the current state of wildfire in Canada and highlight her work in cultural burning. She’ll be sharing knowledge about traditional burning practices with the permission of her partners in the Gitanyow nation.

Local filmmaker Simon Shave will be screening a short film about cultural and controlled burns from his Wildfire documentary series.

Both presenters will sit on a public Q&A discussion panel moderated by John Cathro RPF where they’ll be joined by local forestry experts Dr. Rachel Holt, Erik Leslie RPF, and Yaqan Nukiy Ktunaxa councillor Chad Luke.

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