It’s been another rough fire season here in British Columbia, with a burst of wildfires in the interior resulting in an off-road recreational vehicle ban for southern British Columbia to minimize human-caused fires. It was smart; we needed it, although not everyone was happy about it.

I had come back to my parents’ place after a ride one day only to find that a fire had been started in the valley across from them. The fire was human-caused and was said to involve an ATV. Although it wasn’t clear exactly how the fire was started, debates flared up instantly about the use of off-road vehicles during summer, with the public jumping to conclusions without information. Soon, social media was astir; rumours and opinions spread as fast as the wildfire itself.

The summer had become very dry and incredibly hot; fires were sparking everywhere. To help mitigate human-caused fires, an off-road recreational vehicle (ORV) ban was put on Crown land. The order was smart; keeping vehicle users out of trail systems and heavily wooded areas would help mitigate risk and probability of human-caused fires. However, soon after the order was given, there were sightings of ATVs and side-by-sides riding through the trails, stating their rights as users, regardless of the order.

This put all off-road users in a tough position, with all of us being stereotyped when one trail user disrespects the area or an order. Here in the Okanagan, there was an uproar, with people saying that access to crown land and ORV vehicles should be banned throughout the whole summer regardless of conditions, and that all trail users were to blame.

As motorcyclists, we are used to the stereotype that’s given to us from the general public: motorcyclists are scary, motorcycles are dangerous, and the lot of us are just ruffians. But it’s always just one or two riders that create an absurd picture of who we are as a demographic. This felt amplified toward off-road motorcyclists this year in British Columbia.

According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, through data collected over the previous 10 years, the main causes of fires are as follows: lightning, 60 per cent; category 2 and 3 open fires, 6.5 per cent; campfires, 6.5 per cent; vehicles, 3.9 per cent; arson, suspicious and miscellaneous causes, for 7.3 per cent; infrastructure, equipment use and the railroad, 6.2 per cent ; smoking substances, 0.8 per cent. The remaining small percentage is caused by undetermined sources. There’s a wide range of causes, all of them valid and not to be taken lightly. 

During this time in B.C., there have been discussions between backcountry user groups around the deactivation of a road called Rady Creek, near Trout Lake. This road has offered an access point for all sorts of recreational backcountry users over the past 100 years. The news to deactivate the area was a shock to backcountry advocacy groups, with seven major non-profit societies putting forth applications to state their case on why access should remain open. This has become a much larger story, one that highlights the inequality in user groups and gaps with government policy. The date for deactivation was set for the end of August, but with the ban still in effect, it was postponed till next year. 

What can we, as motorcyclists, do to help? We know one of the many benefits of riding is getting to places that few will ever experience. We love exploring, but we must do it right. If you are an off-road user, get a spark arrestor for your bike, stay on trails, and don’t park your motorcycle over brush or dry grass. Perhaps the most important thing is to support your local off-road club; they are ambassadors and stewards of the area and supporting them helps to support the whole community and creates more advocacy to keep our riding areas open. Stay up to date with local riding areas, and events that support and show the validity of the off-road riding community. 

What we saw this year felt like an attack on off-road user groups without people having the full scope of knowledge. There will always be incidents of human-caused fires; that is an unfortunate reality. Off-road users must be smart about their actions and take accountability when it’s time to get off the trails in extremely dry conditions. It was a tough year for fires across Canada, and it seems this type of summer is becoming more and more common. We have to understand that this is a larger issue than individual preference. As a user group, if we want to keep backcountry access open for following years, we have to be respectful and understand that your individual actions impact a whole user group.