Do your part to reduce risk this Wildfire Community Preparedness Day

KAMLOOPS (NEWS 1130) – It’s no secret BC is still recovering from what was the worst wildfire season in its history last year.

With that in mind, the province is hoping you’ll do your part this year to help. May 5 marks Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, an annual event.

“It’s an opportunity for communities to get together in order to reduce the wildfire risks around their homes and their communities,” explains Fire Information Officer Claire Allen with the BC Wildfire Service.

The day is in accordance with FireSmart Canada, a national organization whose aim is to reduce such a risk in the “wildland urban interface areas.”

“Those are those communities that are adjacent to wildland and forested areas that may or may not have a wildfire risk,” she says.

Allen believes anyone who lives in or near a forested area needs to understand there is a risk that can be involved with that. “Certainly as communities have expanded into the forested areas, homes that are adjacent to forests have a risk of wildland fire encroaching onto it, and vice-versa having home fires be able to spread into the wildland areas.”

FireSmart Canada and partners provide funding awards to support communities in their work to reduce wildfire risk.

This year’s recipients include a number of British Columbian communities, including Kaleden, Invermere, Chilliwack, 108 Mile Ranch, Ashcroft, Vernon and more. Some of these areas were hard hit by wildfires last year.

“Given the severity of last year’s wildfire season, it’s difficult to predict what kind of conditions we might see out there for the 2018 season,” Allen says. “But there’s a lot that both individual property owners and communities as a whole can do to reduce their risk, and a lot of that involves things that are simple steps.”

Some things you can do include clearing brush away from your property and cutting down tall grass “that can get quite dry and accelerate the rate at which a wildland fire can encroach on communities,” Allen says.

It can even be as simple as cleaning the eaves and gutters of your home.

With temperatures on the rise, Allen says it’s important you don’t put this off. “The short term weather indication is the best sense of what kind of forest fire hazards we’re looking at, and that can change dramatically in just a few days. So a short stretch of hot, dry weather can really increase the wildfire risk in certain areas.”

“So for those folks that might be waiting for a couple of weeks from now to start doing landscaping that can reduce their wildfire risk, we really urge them to take Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 5th as an opportunity to get started as soon as possible.”

Tips from the provincial government:

Homeowners can reduce the risk of wildfire damage on their properties by:

  •  removing dead trees.
  •  increasing the spacing between live trees.
  •  trimming low-hanging tree branches (“ladder fuels”).
  •  pruning back vegetation and removing wood debris from around the home.
  •  clearing accumulated leaves and other debris from roofs and gutters.
  •  keeping woodpiles, propane tanks, outbuildings and other combustibles at least 10 metres away from the home.

 

Tips for communities:

  •  FireSmart methods have been demonstrated time and again to reduce the risk of losses within communities, under even the most extreme fire conditions.
  •  Homeowners can join forces with their neighbours and pool resources to reduce wildfire risks (e.g., pay for a wood chipper service to remove wood debris from in and around their community).
  •  A community can also take steps to become a FireSmart Community.

 

British Columbians can take other simple steps to prepare for the wildfire season, such as:

  •  understanding open burning prohibitions and fire danger ratings, and learning where to find information about them
  •  adding 1 800 663-5555 or *5555 to a mobile device so they can report wildfires, open burning violations or dangerous fire use.
  •  visiting PreparedBC’s website
  •  learning how to create a 72-hour “grab and go” kit, prepare household emergency plans, and identify local evacuation routes.

 

For more information, head to the FireSmart website.

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