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FireSmart program getting up close and personal

Program busy with thinning projects, but Whistler Fire Services wants to engage neighbourhoods/stratas
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Bucket Brigade A helicopter drops water on a fire during the hot, dry 2009 summer, where large wildfires were reported in Whistler and north of Pemberton.

Over the past few years, the municipality and province have spent over $300,000 on thinning projects around Whistler, cutting down the number of trees in densely wooded areas that haven't been managed since those areas were forested decades ago. In some areas they would find upwards of 4,000 stems per hectare, or about 10 times as many as you'd find in a natural or managed forest.

While those projects — above Bayshores, in Lost Lake Park and on Blackcomb Mountain — will reduce the risk of wildfires, Whistler Fire Services is looking to expand the FireSmart program by appealing to homeowners.

"We've certainly done a lot of thinning... and we've done some good work in public education in Alpine and Emerald, but ultimately we haven't connected well with the public," said former assistant fire chief Geoff Playfair. (Now retired).

Playfair said the goal for this summer is to bring FireSmart from the backcountry of Whistler into its neighbourhoods and stratas. If neighbourhoods agree to allow Whistler Fire Services into an area, firefighters will do a free FireSmart assessment.

An assessment, said Playfair, would look at everything — homes, manmade structures, local landscaping, parks and surrounding private and public lands — and identify actions that the homeowners can take, starting with the easiest and least expensive — such as volunteers clearing brush, moving woodpiles from homes and raking fallen branches and debris from the nearby forest. The homeowners would also get a list of other items to think about in the long term that may have significant costs, such as replacing roofs or falling trees.

To benefit from an assessment, homeowners have to be organized and have the approval of neighbours.

For issues that are outside the group's control, such as tree thinning on nearby Crown land, Playfair said that the fire department would work with governments to get the approvals in place.

"We can help by liaising with different groups," he said. "If the problem's on Crown land we can work with the province to get a Section 52 for tree thinning or tree removal so they have the legal right to do it. If it's on municipal land, or in a municipal park, we can talk to the municipality and help them get the right permits."

Whistler has already signed on as a FireSmart community, and FireSmart principles were used when building the new neighbourhoods at Rainbow and Cheakamus Crossing.

As well, when the mountain pine beetle started to kill trees in Whistler's north end, the municipality did work with private homeowners to remove trees and improve the health of the forest.

However, since virtually all of Whistler is in the forest interface, recognized by a 2004 hazard assessment, Playfair says it's essential to expand the program into neighbourhoods. For example, in his own neighbourhood in Alpine Meadows, where he's lived for 30 years, he said the environment has changed substantially over the years.

"My yard and neighbourhood has changed dramatically in that time, as trees have grown," he said. "I've kept up with some of it. A FireSmart neighbourhood assessment gives us an opportunity to look holistically at our neighbourhood and make some informed decisions about how to maintain and manage our homes and surroundings, and in cooperation with our neighbours, improve our resilience to wildfires.

"In places like Kelowna where they had those big fires in 2003, they're very aware of this.

"It just hasn't been on our radar the same way, although the risk is there."

Playfair said the length of the fire season has been increasing by two days a year for the past decade — starting earlier and finishing later. "That doesn't sound like a lot, but in 10 years the fire season is 20 days longer. In another 15 years we're looking at another 50 days of fire season," he said.

The length of the fire season is measured by looking at fire reports and the first days in regions where the fire hazard officially increases from Moderate to High based on measures like the amount of moisture in the soil, the dryness of plants and trees, temperature, wind and other criteria. As of press time, the fire hazard for Whistler was currently low, but is expected to increase at temperatures go up.

Playfair said there are benefits to becoming FireSmart. Views and sightlines can improve if dangerous trees are removed, for example, and if forests are thinned then residents can expect to see more natural vegetation and wildlife. If that wildlife is potentially dangerous, they're also easier to spot. Hosting a volunteer workday is also a good way to get to know your neighbours, which has safety benefits as well as social benefits.

Unfortunately insurance agencies don't currently recognize FireSmart communities but, said Playfair, it is being discussed and could be considered in a few years to help reduce insurance costs.

"It's on their radar," he said.

As well as doing assessments of neighbourhoods, the fire department is also looking at ways to increase FireSmart activities elsewhere in the resort using community groups. One example would be for a group to thin brush and trees along sections of Valley Trail, improving sightlines; reducing fuel and creating better fire break if a wildfire did break out.

"Most of the things that increase wildfire safety also benefit in other ways, like general public safety or by increasing wildlife," said Playfair.

If your neighbours or strata are on board, you can contact Whistler Fire Services at 604-935-8260 and request a FireSmart assessment. For more information on the FireSmart program you can visit www.bcwildfire.ca/Prevention/firesmart.htm.

• In B.C. there are approximately 2,000 wildfires every year. Roughly half are caused by human activity.

• Every year more homes are built in "wildland-urban interface" areas, or in forests. As a result more homes each year are impacted by wildfires.

The Logan Lake example

Several B.C. and Alberta communities in high-risk areas have already embraced FireSmart, including the small community of Logan Lake between Kamloops and Merritt.

After the Kelowna fires in 2003 the community embraced FireSmart as a way to protect homes and community from interface fires.

• Logan Lake created a community forest in the area surrounding the town, and thinned the forests in that area as part of their allowable cut. Money from log sales went back into FireSmart.

• A high school program in forestry was created to help maintain the forest. The students learn about forests, help with harvesting, burn slash piles during the winter months and then mill the cut wood at a portable mill at school to use in industrial arts classes.

• Because of the type of pine forest, grass grows between trees. To manage that grass, which spreads wildfires, the town created fencing and then leased the forest to cattle ranchers to graze their herds. Money raised from herding goes back into the FireSmart program;

• The community has built, and now maintains, planned firebreaks through the forest. These breaks double as recreation trails for ATVs, horses and biking during the summer, and cross-country skiing and snowmobiling during the winter months.