Sun Peaks Fire Rescue prevention officer, James Griffiths, chatted with SPIN about how the public can prepare for wildfire season with a dry summer approaching.
“Most of the talk is that it’s going to be a drier and warmer spring and summer than usual,” said Griffiths, who recently attended a FireSmart resiliency and training summit. “Which obviously, isn’t great with the drought conditions that we have in a lot of B.C.”
This summit was a month earlier than usual and he said 250 firefighters and wildfire personnel attended training days followed by their biggest ever conference.
“More people are definitely concerned about fire seasons moving forward, but everybody’s getting prepared as they can be,” he said of firefighting teams across British Columbia. “Everybody is obviously seeing that wildfire seasons are getting worse, and the benefits to creating a resilient community.”
How Sun Peaks Fire Rescue prepares for wildfire season
Members of SPFR have been undergoing cross-training with BC Wildfire. Four members did the Engine Boss course, one did the Task Force/Strike Team Leader Level 1 course, 14 new members did the Wildland Firefighter Level 1 course and 19 of their firefighters will be participating in a Structural Protection Workshop.
“As a department, we’re pretty proactive with training,” he said. “And it’s only increasing year on year.”
Griffiths reiterated the importance of the public doing their part. The most efficient way to ensure fires don’t get out of control is by following the FireSmart guide, which can be found online at firesmartbc.ca.
“Having that non-combustible zone around your home makes a huge impact in the event that we do get a wildfire here.”
He advised cleaning roofs and gutters as part of this.
“We’re offering a free curbside community chipping day again this year,” he said. “Residents can clean up the yard’s brush and tree limbs, and we have a contract crew come up then dispose of it for them.”
This aspect of FireSmarting property is especially important early in the season, as fires can build in brush and dry, dead vegetation.
“It’s embers that start the fires,” he said. “ And if you’ve got log piles, or furniture or decking, it’s somewhere that embers can accumulate.”
Curbside community chipping day will be May 27 this year.
What did you think of this story?
Sun Peaks Independent News is your essential source for community news in Sun Peaks. Your feedback after we publish a story helps ensure we're always improving our reporting to better serve you.
