For children and families in B.C.’s Southern Interior, wildfire season can feel very close to home. Children may see smokey skies, hear helicopters and airtankers overhead, notice adults checking wildfire maps, or hear conversations about evacuation alerts and changing conditions.
Even very young children notice these changes. What they need from us is not a detailed explanation of wildfire behaviour, but simple, truthful information that helps their world continue to feel understandable and secure.
Start with what your child already knows
Before explaining what is happening, ask a simple question:
“What have you heard about the fire?”
or
“Do you know why the sky looks smokey today?”
Preschoolers can easily misunderstand snippets of adult conversation. Hearing that there is a wildfire “near Kamloops,” for example, may lead a young child to imagine that a fire is immediately outside their home.
The Canadian Red Cross recommends giving children opportunities to ask questions and express their fears, while answering them honestly and in an age-appropriate way. It also notes that children may show stress through changes in sleep, physical complaints, drawings or repeated fire-related play rather than directly saying they are worried.
For a preschooler, an explanation may be as simple as:
“There is a wildfire burning in the forest. Lots of trained people are watching it and working to keep communities safe. Sometimes the smoke travels a long way, so we stay inside when the air is smoky.”
Then let their questions guide the rest of the conversation.
Look for the helpers
This can be one of the most reassuring ways to talk about wildfire with young children.
Here in B.C., children may actually see some of the helpers at work. Helicopters and airtankers are an important part of the BC Wildfire Service response. Aircraft support firefighters on the ground by dropping water or fire retardant, moving crews and equipment, conducting patrols and helping gather information about fires.
So when an airtanker or helicopter passes overhead, instead of allowing the sound to become something mysterious or frightening, try:
“That’s one of the wildfire helpers. The people in that aircraft are helping the firefighters.”
You can talk about the many other helpers too: firefighters, pilots, emergency workers, meteorologists, police officers, nurses, animal-care workers and neighbours helping neighbours.
The message isn’t that nothing difficult can ever happen. It is that when difficult things happen, there are people whose job is to help.
Be reassuring without making promises you can’t keep
Young children do not need adult-level information about fire size, containment percentages or worst-case scenarios.
They do need to know that the adults caring for them are paying attention.
Instead of saying, “Don’t worry, nothing is going to happen,” try:
“The grown-ups are watching what is happening. We have a plan, and if we ever need to do something different, we’ll tell you and we’ll be together.”
PreparedBC recommends that B.C. families plan ahead for wildfires and have emergency and grab-and-go supplies ready. For a young child, knowing that the family has a plan can be reassuring rather than frightening when it is presented calmly.
You might even let your child choose one small comfort item for the family emergency bag — a favourite stuffed animal, book or blanket.
Be careful about what children see and overhear
Repeated images of burning homes and forests can be difficult for preschoolers to understand. A young child may not recognize that television or social-media footage is replaying the same event.
Adult conversations can have the same effect. Children hear words like evacuation, out of control, structure loss and fire behaviour without understanding what those terms mean.
You don’t need to hide wildfire season from children. Instead, try to make a trusted adult their main source of information.
Give a simple explanation, answer the question they actually asked, and then return to ordinary life.
Keep routines as normal as possible
Predictability is particularly reassuring to young children.
Regular meals, bedtime routines, childcare, favourite activities and plenty of ordinary play communicate something very powerful: life is continuing and the adults are taking care of things.
After experiencing or closely following a wildfire, children may temporarily become more clingy, have trouble sleeping, complain of stomach aches or headaches, or repeatedly draw or play out what happened. The Canadian Red Cross identifies these as possible reactions to disaster-related stress.
Repeated firefighter or airplane play isn’t necessarily something to discourage. Play is one of the ways preschool children work through experiences they don’t yet have the language to explain.
Books can help start the conversation
For families in our region, we especially like starting with books that feel connected to the Canadian experience.
What to Bring — Lorna Schultz Nicholson, illustrated by Ellen Rooney
This Canadian picture book is particularly relevant to families in the Southern Interior. Malia sees unusual clouds, smells smoke and notices planes flying overhead before her family learns they need to evacuate because of a forest fire. She must decide what is important enough to take with her.
There is an especially meaningful local connection: author Lorna Schultz Nicholson and illustrator Ellen Rooney both had personal experience with the threat of wildfire in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley.
It offers families a gentle way to talk about preparedness, belongings, family and the idea that the people and relationships we love are more important than our things.
Little Smokey — Robert Neubecker
This one isn’t Canadian, but it is a terrific companion book for Southern Interior children who are fascinated—or a little worried—by the aircraft they see during wildfire season.
The story follows a small firefighting airplane working alongside larger firefighting aircraft, and the book includes information about wildfire and fire prevention.
After reading it, the next airtanker overhead can become:
“Look! One of the helpers!”
Parents can then show children age-appropriate pictures of the real BC Wildfire Service aircraft and explain that B.C.’s helicopters and airtankers work with firefighters on the ground.
Roto and Roy: Helicopter Heroes by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Don Tate
A particularly good choice for children who are fascinated by the helicopters they see and hear during wildfire season. Roto, a firefighting helicopter, and his pilot Roy work together during a forest fire, giving children a concrete picture of what aerial wildfire crews actually do.
The energetic, illustrated story keeps the focus on competent helpers, teamwork and rescue, which makes it a useful companion to conversations such as,
“Those are the helpers.”
Wildfire! by Ashley Wolff
This beautifully illustrated, fact-based picture book looks at wildfire from several perspectives: the forest animals seeking safety, the dispatcher who spots the fire, and the pilots, smokejumpers and firefighters who respond. Importantly, the story continues beyond the fire to show how life gradually returns to the forest.
It is intended for roughly ages 3–8 and can be especially useful for children who have questions about what happens to animals during a wildfire or how all the different helpers work together.
Good Canadian resources for families
For reliable information, we recommend beginning close to home. The Canadian Red Cross provides resources specifically for parents and caregivers supporting children during and after disasters, including wildfire.
PreparedBC offers B.C.-specific wildfire preparedness information for families, while the BC Wildfire Service provides current wildfire information and excellent explanations of how wildfire crews, helicopters and airtankers actually respond to fires.
And when looking at current wildfire information with children, remember that the BC Wildfire Service map is intended to keep the public informed about current fires—not to serve as an individual risk-assessment tool.
The message children need most
Wildfires are a real part of life in the Southern Interior, so we don’t have to pretend they don’t exist.
But preschoolers don’t need to carry the worry that belongs to adults.
They can learn something different:
Sometimes forests have fires. Grown-ups pay attention. Families have plans. Firefighters, pilots and many other helpers are working to keep people safe. And you can always ask us questions.
For a young child, that may be all they need to know.
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