Wildfire is a serious threat throughout Canada – putting neighbourhoods, communities, environmental resources, public and firefighters’ safety at risk every year.
The resort community of Silver Star Mountain, sitting as it does at the apex of four watersheds, is considered to be in a very high risk area.
Lawrie Skolrood, former Vernon deputy chief, was instrumental in helping the communities of Predator Ridge and Canadian Lakeview Estates get FireSmart community committees together and active. He is a trained FireSmart Canada representative.
Skolrood and Alastair Crick, of Regional District of North Okanagan protective services, will host a FireSmart seminar for Silver Star property owners and residents on Tuesday, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the National Altitude Training Centre.
“FireSmart is living with and managing for wildfire on our landscape,” said Crick, quoting from a FireSmart document.
“Preparing for the threat of wildfire is a shared responsibility. From home owners, to industry and government we all have responsibility to lessen the effects of wildfire. Wildland urban interface is a popular term used to describe an area where structures and forested areas meet. The Silver Star community is definitely in such an area.”
The images of the utter destruction by the wildfires in Fort McMurray less than a year ago are still fresh in people’s minds.
Alan Westhaver, a wildfire management specialist, stated in a report commissioned by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, “the total number of homes lost in Fort McMurray would have been far fewer if there had been more widespread adoption of FireSmart risk-reduction practices by homeowners.”
Westhaver further states, “home-owners need to take more responsibility. Utilizing FireSmart principles, home-owners with a rake, pair of pruning shears, a saw and a simple understanding of how fire spreads can take major steps in helping stop or slow down the spread of fire into urban settings.”
FireSmart manuals are available at www.firesmartcanada.ca/resources-library/protecting-your-community-from-wildfire.
and www.firesmartcanada.ca/become-firesmart/community-members/.