North Cowichan fire department expresses ‘grave concern’ over wildfire risk posed by rural 21-lot subdivision
Hidden Hills Road development would have no fire hydrants, making house insurance very expensive or impossible
A proposed 21-lot rural subdivision — distant from fire halls and without fire hydrants — poses a serious threat to the Municipal Forest Reserve, the North Cowichan fire department warns.
Deputy fire chief Chris Jancowski says the location of the proposed subdivision up Hidden Hills Road would make it difficult not only to protect the homes but also the forests on Little Sicker Mountain.
The closest fire hall is in Crofton, about 10 kilometres away.
The strata development, presented to council for "early consideration," involves a consolidation of properties totalling 48 hectares on the west side of Trans Canada Highway, south of Mount Sicker Road and within Bonsall Creek watershed.
The 21 two-hectare strata lots could potentially translate into 42 residential units.
(North Cowichan map)
Jancowski told council on January 21 that the “risk of having our municipal forest right behind there…provides a grave concern, especially with the changing climate we have.”
He added: “Human actions are one of the leading causes of fires in the interface areas. Not by fault, just by action.”
North Cowichan is a paid on-call fire department, meaning firefighters must first report to their respective fire halls before heading to a fire — all of which takes time.
The municipality also has a limited ability to bring its own water to fight a blaze: Maple Bay fire hall (about 18 kilometres from Hidden Hills Road) and Crofton fire hall have tenders, each holding a few thousand gallons.
Jancowski’s warnings did not stop a council majority — Bruce Findlay, Tek Manhas, Mike Caljouw and Becky Hogg — from pushing the development proposal one step closer to potential approval.
Hogg and Caljouw said they want to hear the proponents’ response to various issues raised by staff, including the fire risk.
The two councillors liked the fact the subdivision would not require municipal sewer and water infrastructure (the lots would have wells and septic tanks) and would include restrictive covenants to protect about 22 hectares of forest land.
Findlay said the subdivision might not align with the municipality’s growth strategies “but not everyone wants to live in a one-bedroom condo” near Quw’utsun Valley Hospital.
The Hidden Hills Road vote came less than two months after council — with support from Caljouw and Hogg — voted to hire a wildfire specialist and create a strategic wildfire plan.
(https://cowichanvalleycitizen.com/2026/01/08/north-cowichan-to-hire-wildfire-specialist/ )
The same four councillors have approved a number of Official Community Plan (OCP) amendments in recent months that go against the strong advice of professional staff, including support for development north of Herd Road in the Bell McKinnon area outside the Urban Containment Boundary.
Mayor Rob Douglas told the January 21 meeting he is incredulous that any councillor would entertain the Hidden Hills Road application given the fire department’s stated concerns.
“Is it responsible for us to approve development in an area without water service or fire hydrants when the fire department has clearly stated it has a limited ability to respond to such incidents?”
Councillor Chris Istace said he “couldn’t fathom” this development proceeding to a public hearing based on the concerns, including the potential downstream environmental impacts.
“This subdivision feeds directly into Bonsall Creek,” he said. “We have a responsibility to properly manage the forests and the watersheds….”
Bonsall Creek flows into the Chemainus River estuary.
The Cowichan Valley Regional District says the 3,663-hectare Bonsall watershed is susceptible to drought and flooding, and is under stress from “expanding human populations.”
(CVRD graphic of Bonsall Creek)
Councillor Christopher Justice also supported the staff recommendation to reject the development.
In their written proposal to council, Eddie Paul and Myrna Pokiak, describe themselves as owners of the Hidden Hills Road property.
They operate “several Indigenous-led businesses on Vancouver Island, including Gordon Homes,” a modular and manufactured home company based in Nanaimo.
Pokiak is also an artist, originally from Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories. Her work has appeared on Royal Canadian Mint collection coins: https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/profiles/artist/Myrna-Pokiak .
She did not respond to a request for comment.
The application to rezone the property from Agriculture, Forestry, and Conservation to Rural Residential would require an OCP amendment. The site is outside the Urban Containment Boundary.
The next step is for the applicant to submit a comprehensive OCP amendment application for council’s consideration.
A report by North Cowichan’s planning department warns: “Due to the inadequate water supply for firefighting at this location, response times from stations would not meet the recommended times set by the Fire Underwriters Survey.”
The staff report warned: “This area would be considered unprotected by the Fire Underwriters, which could mean homeowners would not be able to get fire insurance, or would only be able to obtain it at a very high cost.”
The report pointed to a fire last August at Panorama Ridge, a residential subdivision in Chemainus, that also had no fire hydrants. Property losses totalled $6-7 million.
Other concerns outlined in the staff report:
— The “provision of onsite septic on a lot by lot basis has potentially detrimental environmental impacts and is less than ideal.”
— Any "perceived benefit” from restrictive covenants “does not outweigh the significant departure from the growth strategy otherwise represented by this application.”
(Upper Bonsall Creek in the Municipal Forest Reserve)
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