It has been a recurring theme this week, popping up in conversations, media consumed, and in silent moments of reflection as I have considered what meals to prepare.

The concept of prevention. Specifically, prevention of negative outcomes in personal and societal spaces.

I was on the road again this past Sunday. Somewhere just after passing Clinton, halfway between Vancouver and Prince George, my vehicle’s sound system stopped registering my iPod Touch. The 2009 device seemed to be working fine, so perhaps the connecting cable was shot. Whatever the matter, 15 years without issue is not a bad run.

With no music to listen to and 4 hours still to go, I combed the FM airwaves until I landed on the only available channel – CBC Radio. It went in and out as I weaved through the mountainous terrain, fuzzy for much of the journey. I had to re-tune several times to find the right frequency. But for the rest of the drive, my ears followed the programming as my eyes browsed the landscapes that the hosts discussed. The news programs spoke about the upcoming fire seasons. The interview podcasts featured guests who were experts in disasters, mental health, and wringing comedy from dark times. A little politics, here and there, seemingly the same polarized discourse we have been having for the last decade. It was clear that a lot of the shows were pre-taped, as the situations had changed even by then – the Sunday morning updates from BC’s Northeast and Alberta’s Fort MacMurray markedly different than the headlines being repeated.

One of the programs, “Cross Country Checkup”, ended by fielding calls from Canadians who had questions or wanted to share their thoughts on the modern mega-firescape that has gripped the nation’s summers in recent times. Some wondered why the provincial government had not banned campfires, given the predicted disaster-filled summer ahead. Most fires are human-caused, after all – the result of hot mufflers, discarded cigarettes, grass burning run amok, industrial activity. Why not prevent what we can? (Arson, it must be noted, represented a tiny percentage of the causes.) Other callers suggested preventative measures to deal with the new megafire reality; introduce large fire breaks around towns and populated areas. The idea being that these would be effective in aiding response efforts and save a lot of forested or agricultural land from eradication. The callers were also mostly fire-affected. Former evacuees; anecdote-holders whose trauma from recent events fueled their passion for the subject.