qathet Regional District (qRD) directors have been provided an update on the FireSmart program in the region for 2023.
At the September 6 committee of the whole meeting, manager of emergency services Ryan Thoms outlined work that had been going on in 2023, including FireSmart work conducted in all the regions of the regional district, including the island communities, City of Powell River and Tla’amin Nation.
“What is really nice to see is getting neighbourhood initiatives and community initiatives,” said Thoms. “That’s where we are going to win the FireSmart work. It’s great working with individuals and it is super important working with our fire services and all the planning work we do through FireSmart, but it is really great when we can see that leveraging of community support, because that is where we are really going to be successful.”
Thoms outlined that demand for the program is high. At a recent a session at Powell River Public Library, perhaps coming in the wake of a provincial declaration of emergency, the library was overloaded and approximately 70 people were turned away, according to Thoms.
“The library was kind enough to offer a return date,” said Thoms. “It speaks to the amount of engagement and the interest in the public for the work that is being done.”
City director Cindy Elliott said a staff report indicated that in the first six months of 2023, there had been 61 residential assessments carried out. She asked if more could be done or if that was a maximum.
Thoms said that number would certainly be above 70 by now. He said the expectation is that the program will reach about 100 residential assessments, which have to come in as requests from residential property owners. Thoms said the assessment is free, and if the homeowners choose to make improvements, the program offers rebates.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said making sure a property is FireSmart requires a lot of the underbrush and low-hanging limbs to be removed to prevent fire creeping along the ground and getting up trees. He said he talked to knowledgeable people who indicated that the temperate rainforest relies on that underbrush for moisture retention. He said the underbrush shades the ground, and where it is cleaned up, there is an impact on the ecosystem.
“Have we seen the impacts of the FireSmart program and how it affects the forest ecology after it gets cleaned up?” asked Gisborne.
Thoms said there is a lot of direct experience with what Gisborne was describing.
“It really depends on where you live in the province,” said Thoms. “I encourage you and anybody to have a look on the qathet Regional District website at our FireSmart page or on one of the brochures. Our FireSmart program has really worked well with the province towards these concepts that are specifically appropriate for coastal rainforest situations.
“When talking about FireSmart cleanup, it’s a lot of limbs and smaller brush, and that’s what you want to see gone. What we want to see remaining is larger diameter woody debris intact on the forest floor. That is what is going to hold onto moisture. Decomposition provides habitat. Those skinny little branches that are the forest fire fuel are not really holding onto much moisture or providing habitat.”
Thoms said fuel mitigation cleanup in the Penticton Trails had to follow that formula very specifically, with riparian and wildlife protection.
“We are looking at this through a very broad lens,” said Thoms. “The science has come a long way and it is actually very appropriate to deal with our fire hazard, but also respect all the other values.”
The committee voted to recommend to the board that it receive the regional FireSmart program 2023 update.
