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There will never be zero risk of wildfire
By Don McCormick
As we approach the end of August, wildfires remain a threat. What are we doing to reduce wildfire risk to the community? What can you do now to help reduce that risk?
WHAT THE CITY IS DOING
The City of Kimberley has been working diligently since 2006 to address wildfire risks. An average of about $400,000 per year has been spent on fuels management, largely within our urban interface on the west side of the city. Modelling shows that fire from the St. Mary’s Valley, fuelled by high winds, represent our greatest risk.
With additional resourcing from the province, efforts were expanded in 2019, following the evacuation alert we survived in August of 2018.
This recent article chronicles our efforts.
The city plans to continue maximizing money and resources accessible through the province. We continue to work with wildfire expert Bob Gray to access money, and to plan mitigation of wildfire risk to our watershed. This long-term plan involves managing the watershed at a landscape level. More on this when Bob attends a council meeting as a delegation.
WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?
As a community, we have not done nearly enough to FireSmart our homes. I have heard people say that it won’t matter if a fire reaches the city. It does matter! The risk to homes starts with hot embers that can travel kilometre ahead of a fire. Removing vegetation and other fuels most likely to ignite is critical to stopping the advance of a fire; it also gives us more time to evacuate safely should it come to that.
Please review the FireSmart guidelines here.
We have several neighbourhoods that are FireSmart certified, but there is much more work to do.
Regardless of city and provincial mitigation efforts, there will never be zero risk. It falls on all of us – residents and our visitors, to be vigilant in any behaviour that could result in a spark that spawns a wildfire.
Thanks to all for helping keep our community safe this summer.
Lead image: A view from Kimberley of the St. Mary’s River Wildfire earlier this summer. e-KNOW file photo
Don McCormick is Mayor of the City of Kimberley
