FireSmart co-creator comes to Valemount

RDFFG emergency service coordinator Colby Molcak shows off a miniature house divided into two parts: one exhibiting the “do’s” of FireSmart and the other showing the “don’t’s.” The display is a fun way for kids to learn FireSmart principles – and bring their parents into the conversation, too, Molcak said. /Abigail Popple

By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG

Coniferous trees, wooden decks, cedar shingles. What do all these have in common? Aside from being ubiquitous features of B.C. homes, they’re all potential ignition sources highlighted in FireSmart, a nationwide program that encourages Canadians to make their homes more fire-resilient.

The program, created in 1990, gives guidelines on how to protect the 30 meters immediately surrounding your house. Following recommendations to complete small tasks like clearing your gutters make for an easy way to protect your home, neighbourhood, and first responders, says the program’s co-creator Alan Westhaver.

Westhaver spoke to dozens of Valemount residents during a Village-organized FireSmart movie night on Wednesday, August 27th. Attendees gathered for a screening of “The Test,” a documentary about Logan Lake, a B.C. community that survived the Tremont Creek wildfire in 2021 without losing any buildings. The 2000-person town has had a robust FireSmart program for over twenty years, including a youth program that employs teens to clear brush and dry fuels from the forest surrounding town.

While wildfires are scary and can be overwhelming, British Columbians should take heart in examples of fire-resilient communities like Logan Lake, Westhaver said.

“What does fire-resilient really mean? It means a community that bounces back quickly and completely,” he said “It means that we get to go home, we get to go back to our jobs, we go back to work in a community that has far less to recover from.”

The effects of climate change are having a big impact on wildfire seasons, according to Westhaver. Stronger winds, hotter summers, more frequent and intense droughts all mean that fires grow stronger, hotter and faster. Canada has seen its 10 worst wildfires of the past century all within the past 15 years, Westhaver said.

It’s not all bad news, though – the FireSmart program empowers residents to combat wildfires by mitigating their damage ahead of time, Westhaver said. When everybody in a community pitches in, they have a better shot at saving the whole neighbourhood.

“If the homes don’t ignite, they don’t burn. If homes don’t burn, we don’t have a disaster – we go back home. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Westhaver said.

Common landscaping and home design features such as wooden decks, trees near the home, and mulch can add fuel to the fire, easily igniting when an ember lands on them. Taking easy steps like adding mesh underneath a deck so embers can’t float underneath them, making sure trees are pruned to a height of two metres, and swapping mulch for gravel go a long way in making a home more fire-resilient, according to Westhaver.

Firefighters are more likely to save your home and neighbourhood if it’s FireSmart-compliant, Westhaver added.

“The benefit of neighbourhoods tackling this problem together is that your home has a chance to stand alone without a lot of extra firefighting protection. And when firefighting resources are available, they’re way more effective, and it’s a lot safer both for residents and for firefighters,” he said.

The Village’s FireSmart movie night was a good first step in getting residents to think about wildfire preparation, Westhaver told The Goat. He hopes to see more community members follow the program in the future.

“Once people start doing things in their own backyard, their neighbours will get curious, I guarantee you. It’s infectious,” Westhaver said about the program. “It gives us something we can do that makes a big difference.”

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