Podcasts about firesmart

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There hasn't been a major wildfire on Cortes Island for decades, but this could change as our summer's grow hotter and drier. The Rainbow Ridge Affordable Housing project is being designed with this in mind. “The main idea is to try to have more of a FireSmart community and get rid of the conifers that are much more prone to embers catching fire and then catching the neighbor's houses and vehicles on fire, like we saw in the California fires this winter,” explained Mark Lombard, speaking on behalf of the Cortes Housing Society. “We're also going to try to incorporate deciduous trees into the landscape of the 24 units, so that in the summer time you'll have nice leafy, shady zones around the houses in key spots. So that you don't get, for example, overheating in the summer midday and afternoon sun from the south and west, while still allowing our buildings to have good access for passive solar design and solar photovoltaics on the roofs of the buildings.”  “Fire smart principles in general are to not have conifers - firs, cedars and hemlock trees - within 10 to 20 meters of your house. So when there are embers that fly ahead of a fire, they won't land in those trees, catch them on fire and then ignite the buildings around them. Using siding that's not going to be flammable like cedar; using metal or plaster as siding; designing your soffits so that the embers can't get trapped and then catch the roof on fire. We're going to use metal roofing which is very fire resistant.” “The way you do your landscaping is really important. If you put in a lot of hedges, for example, that is a real problem because embers can catch those on fire and then it's really hard to protect the structures. So trying to do a fire smart architeure site plan as well as the specific landscaping is the general idea.” “One of the big things for Cortes Island, if we have a major emergency our current plan is that we'll evacuate the island and that is expected to take about 40 - 48 hours - primarily using BC ferries. However, we know that if there's a major wildfire that starts, for example in Carrington, with a big northwesterly in five hours we could have serious fire conditions throughout the island. “So we need to create places where we can do what's called ‘shelter-in-place,' which is have a cleared area that has no trees for four times the height of the nearest trees nearby. We don't really have very much of that on Cortes, as everybody knows. There aren't a lot of big cleared areas. One of the areas that was the most likely place that we want to shelter in place and use as an anchor point in a major wildfire would be the training grounds at the fire departments.” “In the case of Manson's Landing, we had trees that were really tall directly adjacent to the helipad, and we did not have anywhere near the necessary four tree lengths. So now we've cleared the area to expand the training yard and directly behind that. We're not going to have any tall conifers. So we've created a much more defensible place to ‘shelter-in-place' on the south end of Cortes, right by the fire hall, which we think of as a bit of a multi-solving approach.” You have been listening to an interview with Mark Lombard about the Fire Smarting aspects of Rainbow Ridge.

Environment Canada lets us know when the heatwave ends. Stepping Stones Youth Centre puts out the call for donations. And the FireSmart Interpretive Trail is now open.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Screening of ‘the Test' On Cortes Island Thursday Male voice: “I'll vividly remember there was a very large wall of flame methodically marching towards Logan Lake and a huge column of smoke coming off of that and looking down at these cul de sacs and thinking, ‘wow, they look so small.' And in my mind, all I could think was that this is either going to be a great day for Logan Lake, or a horrible day.” Female voice: “What inspired the first activities in Logan Lake was fear.” Second female voice: “We're a small community on top of this beautiful hill surrounded by forest.” - excerpt from ‘the Test.' There will be a screening of ‘The Test' in the Mansons Fire Hall at 7 PM, on Thursday, June 20.   “This is a documentary about the Logan Lake wildfire and their success in preparing for it using the FireSmart methods.  I believe they had been preparing for 18 years before they had a major wildfire come through the community, “explained, Interim Fire Chief Eli MccKenty. “We're going to be holding it at the Fire Hall, so we don't have a huge seating capacity there. If we're packed in, we probably could seat about 30.  We looked at booking Manson's Hall in case we got a big turnout and it wasn't available. If we're overwhelmed, we might be able to move down to the truck bays and pull the trucks out.  If we get strong interest, we will do a second showing.  We even thought about doing a drive-in showing later in the summer when it's dark earlier and projecting it on the side of the fire hall.” Cortes Currents: Why is that important for Cortes Island?   Eli McKenty: “It's important for Cortes Island because FireSmarting is important for Cortes Island. This is a demonstration of how successful it can be and how important it is for a community to engage with.” Cortes Currents: I'm going to play another clip: Female voice: “Until the day we got evacuated, it's almost like you feel invincible - that it's not going to happen to you. Male voice: “Everything was going well and all of a sudden the power went out. We were down towards the acreage and we could see it rolling in on us, the gray dirty black smoke coming and then it got close enough we could see the flames and we knew it was definitely coming in.” Second male voice: “These people came to save our community. Holy jeez we're going to war!” Female voice: “I had one person come up to me and ask me at what point we should leave. I didn't know at what point you leave during an event like that.” Cortes Currents: Isn't this film a bit alarmist? Eli McKenty: “It could be seen that way, but this particular documentary is also a success story for  how we can mitigate the effects of climate change and how we can prepare for a worst case scenario.  We may never see a worst case scenario on Cortes, but it's still relevant to prepare for it because we don't really know what's coming.”  Cortes Currents: Do you think there's any chance we could have a major wildfire on Cortes?   Eli McKenty: “Certainly, I think that It's a question of when, not if. In the larger scale of things, especially with climate change and increasing fuel loads in the forests and the transition of species as climate changes, we have a lot of dead cedar on the island . So I think it's definitely a risk and something that we should be preparing for actively.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District will be carrying out FireSmart assessments on Cortes Island between Tuesday, June 11, and Thursday June 13. This is a free evaluation of the exterior of your home and surrounding yard,  which usually takes about an hour.    “I started doing home assessments across the Strathcona Regional District in January.  I have come to Cortes a few times to do public education and have tagged on some home assessments.  I was just there in May for emergency preparedness week, and through that we had quite a few requests to come back for home assessments,” explained Bonnie Logan, Wildfire Risk Reduction Coordinator with the SRD. “Usually there's only one wildfire risk reduction coordinator and that would be me, but I am eight and a half months pregnant. I'm  in that danger zone at that point where they like you to be close to a hospital. We hired Jeff as my maternity leave replacement. So Jeff will be coming over to Cortes  and he's going to be doing free FireSmart home assessments.”   Cortes Currents: How did the assessments go in other communities? Bonnie Logan: “There's definitely some common trends that we do see, like  firewood stacked up against a home or under a deck because it's nice dry storage, and most people are lacking sufficient storage. Wood decks are another one. Unfortunately, wood combustible,  there isn't really a good answer. That is  the most common decking system. “We do have some suggestions on how to mitigate that. Again, it's not a pass or fail. It's not 'all of these things need to be done right now!' Some of these things are very small. There's general housekeeping, like keeping your roof and gutters clean, mowing your lawn, raking some debris away from the home and then maybe moving that firewood pile in the summer when you're not using your wood stove.”   “Everybody really buys into the program because it's not all or nothing. It's a bit of a choose your own adventure.  Everything we're talking about is scientifically backed.  These aren't just  Bonnie Logan's ideas, or Jeff Caring's ideas, and they're not just the Strathcona Regional District pushing this program. These are tried, true and tested; based on science and research. So once you start talking to people and pointing out some of these things, they say, ‘Oh, I never looked at that' or ‘I never considered that.'  It's a conversation with people and people realize that Rome wasn't built in a day. So the feedback's been really great, actually.”   Cortes Currents: How do you carry out an assessment? Bonnie Logan: “We start with the roof and the structure, and then we work down and out.”  “FireSmart has three zones.” “The immediate zone, which goes out about five feet, is going to be your roof. We'll be looking at what type of materials on the outside of the house. What materials the house is built with, and then what materials surround the house. Something super common we see is  firewood stacked up right against the house, which can be a hazard in wildfire season.”  “Moving outwards: we move into the intermediate zone and then the extended zone. We get a little bit more lenient about what can be in those zones.  Depending on how big your property is, you might not have that bigger zone. You might end up in your neighbour's yard and at that point, you have no control over what your neighbour does.”  “Nothing is a requirement, it's just education and awareness for the homeowner. There's no follow up.  We're not going to come back a month later and finger wag at anybody and say, you didn't do these things.”  “Some of these things we're talking about, like a roof, that's a big ticket item to potentially replace.  It's more about when that roof does need to be replaced, maybe we make a different choice if we have a combustible roof, like a cedar shake roof.”

FireSmart BC™ is launching a new campaign following the devastating 2023 wildfire season. Guest: Hannah Swift - Acting Program Lead for FireSmart BC  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a Learner's License driving course beginning in Fort McKay next week. Is your home eligible for FireSmart rebates? It's construction season in Fort McMurray, and we hear about the projects underway.

It's been almost a year since the devastating wildfires in Halifax and Shelburne Counties.  The Barrington Lake fire — the largest wildfire in recorded history of the province and the Tantallon fire — one of the most expensive. Kara McCurdy recently left her role as a Fire Prevention officer with Natural Resources and Renewables for a similar role with Halifax Fire and Emergency Services. She was also presented with the Lynn Orstad Award for preventing wildfire and advancing community resiliency. As she moves into her new role with HRFE, McCurdy discusses the FireSmart program and some of the lessons learned on protecting properties from wildfire risk. May 5th to 11th is Emergency Preparedness Week.  For more information visit Halifax.ca/EMO. 

Le Canada a subi en 2023 la pire saison des feux de son histoire, avec 18,4 millions d'hectares brûlés. Dans l'ouest du pays, dans la ville de West-Kelowna située au bord du lac Okanagan, les habitants ont été particulièrement touchés. Des centaines de bâtiments ont été détruits ou endommagés dans la vallée. Après une telle catastrophe, vouée à se reproduire, les habitants tentent de panser leurs blessures et de trouver des solutions. De notre correspondant à West-Kelowna,À quatre heures de route depuis Vancouver, voici West-Kelowna, dans la région de l'Okanagan. Des arbres brûlés, piliers noirs et sinistres, accueillent le visiteur. Juste à l'entrée de la ville, des murs sans toit se dressent, des habitations détruites, des carcasses fondues. Un terrain attire l'œil, complètement rasé, comme s'il n'avait jamais été construit. C'est ici que Tiffany Genge, une mère au foyer de 41 ans, avait sa maison, avec son mari et ses deux enfants.Trois mois après l'incendie, relogée à une dizaine de minutes en voiture, Tiffany panse encore ses blessures. Dans son immense salon, elle raconte : « J'ai attendu le dernier moment quand ils nous ont dit " vous devez partir maintenant ". J'ai dit aux enfants : "OK, on y va. Retournez dans vos chambres, choisissez un jouet dont vous ne pouvez absolument pas vous passer ". »Moins d'une heure après leur départ de la maison, le système de sécurité relié à son smartphone lui indique que la maison surchauffe, puis perd la connexion. « C'est à ce moment-là que j'ai réalisé que la maison avait disparu », se souvient Tiffany.Aujourd'hui, plus que ses affaires, ce sont les souvenirs qui lui manquent. Relogée dans une grande maison, un ancien Airbnb réquisitionné par la ville, elle s'y sent comme étrangère : « C'est ce sentiment de se sentir chez moi qui me manque. En tant que mère, c'est comme un nid, n'est-ce pas ? Et donc j'y pense parfois… Ceci est une maison temporaire, et nous l'avons rendue aussi confortable et accueillante que possible, mais c'est là-bas que mes enfants ont appris à ramper, c'est là-bas qu'ils ont appris à marcher, qu'ils ont dit leur premier mot ». Les souvenirs qui apparaissent sur Facebook et sur son téléphone la prennent régulièrement aux tripes et lui rappellent ce qu'elle a perdu, confie-t-elle.Quelques jours seulement après le drame d'août 2023, l'assurance a pris le relais. Tiffany peut désormais penser à l'après : pas question de quitter sa région, renommée « Smokanagan », un jeu de mot entre l'Okanagan et « smoke », « fumée » en anglais. Ils ont été parmi les premiers à obtenir le permis de démolir la maison en ruines, et l'autorisation de commencer les travaux au printemps 2024. « C'est la partie la plus excitante de tout cela. Le fait de ne plus voir tout en noir, c'est excitant pour moi et pour les enfants parce qu'ils se disent : « Oh, on va avoir de nouveaux trucs !!! », s'esclaffe Tiffany.Une saison exceptionnelleWest-Kelowna est habituée aux feux de forêts. Mais celui du mois d'août a bien failli emporter toute la municipalité, et la ville située en face, Kelowna. Pour la première fois, les flammes ont traversé le lac Okanagan, et ravagé plus de 200 habitations sur les deux rives.Depuis l'école de Mount Boucherie, Paige, 15 ans, piercing au nez, sourire aux lèvres, voyait même encore les fumerolles en allant en cours début septembre : « On en parlait plus à la rentrée, on se disait quelle maison avait brûlé, ou pas. Mais les incendies sont devenus une chose tellement normale à West-Kelowna, que nous n'en avons plus vraiment reparlé ».La plupart des amis de Paige ont été évacués cet été, quand les flammes sont arrivées. « Nous prenions des nouvelles les uns des autres tous les jours (...) et j'essayais de les soutenir avec des phrases un peu banales, comme (...) "ce ne sont que des objets, au moins on a perdu personne, n'est-ce pas ?" », raconte Paige.La jeune fille admet que la crise climatique la préoccupe beaucoup encore plus depuis que les phénomènes météorologiques locaux changent : moins de neige l'hiver en Okanagan, et des incendies tous les étés.Toute la région de l'Okanagan a subi de plein fouet cette saison estivale catastrophique : de la fumée, partout, tout le temps. Les flammes qui se rapprochent des maisons, qui réveillent pendant la nuit et qui paralysent le cours normal des choses. Assise dans un café à quelques kilomètres de West-Kelowna, Mélanie confie avoir perdu beaucoup d'argent cet été :  «Je suis peintre en bâtiment et j'avais des travaux à l'extérieur que je fais normalement en été : ils ont tous été annulés. Personne n'était intéressé, et je ne leur en veux pas. Moi-même, ça ne m'intéressait pas d'être à l'extérieur, c'était déjà assez difficile de respirer pour se déplacer et faire ses tâches quotidiennes. »La travailleuse estime avoir perdu 15 000 dollars de bénéfices, le temps de la saison des feux. Mélanie est loin d'être un cas isolé : de nombreux secteurs subissent les conséquences des feux, dont le tourisme, évidemment.Le tourisme frappé de plein fouetAu centre d'accueil des visiteurs de West-Kelowna, désert, il y a un musée consacré à la foresterie, un thème au cœur de l'identité de la ville. Pour le secteur touristique, les pertes économiques sont énormes. Jeremiah Rider est le directeur de l'Office de tourisme de West-Kelowna : « Nous avons constaté une baisse de fréquentation de 90 % ici. Dans l'Okanagan, nous en sommes au point où nous sommes presque excités lorsqu'il n'y a pas d'incendie. »Le professionnel du tourisme rappelle que les feux ne touchent pas que le tourisme : ils pèsent aussisur le marché du logement, déjà très tendu dans l'Okanagan, en réduisant le nombre de maisons disponibles.  Pour se donner du courage, Jeremiah pense à la communauté de West-Kelowna… Cet été, elle a fait preuve de résilience et de solidarité. Le directeur du musée montre fièrement une immense caisse en bois, posée devant l'accueil visiteurs et remplie de boîtes de conserves, de pâtes, et autres aliments essentiels. « C'est une boîte à dons pour la Banque alimentaire. Nous avons récolté près de 1 300 dollars en dons en espèces, sans compter la nourriture. »Une radio locale a même récolté près de 15 000 dollars de dons pour la Banque alimentaire et différentes collectes de fonds étaient en cours début novembre 2023. « Les gens se mobilisent pour aider les personnes touchées, et pour récompenser les pompiers, car c'est un travail énorme qu'ils ont eu, en particulier, le chef des pompiers Brolund, et le travail qu'il a dû faire pour maintenir la communauté en vie, pour que tout le monde reste positif et que tout le monde soit en sécurité », ajoute Jeremiah, admiratif.Des pompiers déterminésLa caserne des pompiers de Jason Brolund surplombe, sur une colline, la ville de West-Kelowna. Le chef des pompiers se dirige vers le garage immense et les camions rutilants, mais s'arrête en chemin, téléphone à la main pour montrer une image d'un immense panache de fumée : « Cette photo a été prise d'ici. C'est le jour où l'incendie a éclaté. C'était le 16 août. Aujourd'hui, c'est évidemment très différent, car nous sommes passés soudainement à l'automne ici. »Jason Brolund a été sur tous les fronts, coordonnant les centaines d'hommes mobilisés sur le terrain, dormant peu, craquant même parfois en direct à la télévision, en larmes. Tout l'été, sa caserne des pompiers est devenue sa deuxième maison. « Pour moi et la centaine de pompiers de mon département, nous continuions à venir tous les jours parce que c'est notre communauté. Nous vivons ici. Nos familles vivent ici. Nos parents vivent ici. Nous sommes allés à l'école ici. Nos professeurs habitent au coin de la rue… Nous voulons protéger cette communauté et lui montrer que nous sommes là pour elle. C'est ce qui nous a permis de rester motivés. »En septembre 2023, Jason Brolund a été invité à l'ONU par le Premier ministre du Canada, Justin Trudeau, pour parler de son expérience de terrain. Résoudre le dérèglement climatique, ce n'est pas de son ressort. Lui parle de ce qu'il voit dans sa région natale : plus de feux, plus forts, plus difficiles à gérer avec des étés plus arides. Et il y a des leçons à tirer de cette saison. « Si la première ligne de défense est laissée aux pompiers, il est bien trop tard. Nous ne pouvons pas mettre en place des services d'incendies suffisamment importants pour arriver à arrêter des feux de cette taille, avant qu'ils ne brûlent des maisons. Il faut investir en amont, comme avec FireSmart par exemple », assène le chef des pompiers.Apprendre les bons gestesPour atténuer ces feux de forêt, il y a une première solution : sensibiliser la population. L'initiative dont parle Jason Brolund, « FireSmart » ou Intelli-Feu en québécois, est un programme gouvernemental pour nettoyer les jardins et réduire le risque qu'ils s'enflamment.Direction le nord de West-Kelowna, à une centaine de kilomètres, où le même feu a dévasté plusieurs zones urbaines. Évacué cet été, un café posé au bord de la route, en bordure de forêt, se remet tout juste du désastre. Dan Stevens, un géant au grand sourire et à la verve passionnée, est déjà en train de commander sa boisson chaude. Il coordonne la sensibilisation pour FireSmart en Colombie-Britannique, et travaille aussi pour la Société des Services d'Urgences pour les Premières Nations de Colombie-Britannique.Dan Stevens était à Kelowna au moment où l'incendie a commencé à se propager. Il est donc rentré chez lui pour appliquer les principes de prévention des incendies de FireSmart à sa propre maison : « J'ai enlevé une partie de la végétation autour de ma maison, créé une zone intermédiaire autour de mon bâtiment, afin qu'il n'y ait pas de végétation inflammable. J'ai éloigné certains de mes meubles de jardin de la maison et de ma terrasse, juste au cas où des braises ou des tisons arriveraient. Car le vent peut souffler des tisons jusqu'à deux kilomètres aux alentours et cela peut déclencher des incendies lorsqu'ils se déposent sur des combustibles extérieurs ».Impossible de connaître le nombre de personnes qui utilisent le programme FireSmart, lancé par le gouvernement, il y a plus de 30 ans. Mais pour Dan, il est vital que ses principes soient connus et appliqués par tous. « Nous essayons d'atteindre toutes les communautés parce que 'l'enjeu n'est pas de savoir si le feu de forêt va arriver, mais quand il va arriver, et nous devons être préparés pour cela », rappelle-t-il, un regard inquiet par la fenêtre.Adapter les forêts mitoyennesLa deuxième solution, complémentaire de FireSmart, est de mieux entretenir les forêts, car de nombreux terrains forestiers appartiennent à des entreprises privées, situés parfois à quelques mètres seulement des habitations.Si ces parcelles ne sont pas entretenues, que du combustible est disponible au sol, elles risquent de s'enflammer encore plus vite. Coulter Roberts fait partie d'une entreprise de gestion forestière, Ntytix, qui s'inspire des anciennes pratiques des peuples autochtones du pays pour réduire l'intensité des feux aux abords des maisons.Casquette de son entreprise vissée sur la tête, le jeune homme a donné rendez-vous dans une forêt traitée par Ntytix et située sur les hauteurs de Kelowna… Elle a brûlé en 2021, sans atteindre les maisons. « L'objectif d'un projet comme celui-ci est de réduire les combustibles au sol qui vont porter le feu jusqu'à la couronne des arbres et provoquer un incendie plus intense », explique Robert Coulter en déambulant dans la forêt, le nez en l'air.Dans les bois proches des maisons, un grand nombre de branches d'arbres ont été élaguées jusqu'à trois mètres de hauteur. Les combustibles au sol ont été empilés et brûlés, un projet réalisé à la main par des équipes, avec des tronçonneuses et des scies d'élagage.Un projet comme celui de Ntytix coûte 8 000 dollars, pour 45 hectares de forêt traités, sans compter le coût en main-d'œuvre, qui rend impossible le traitement de toutes les forêts du Canada. « Il n'est pas réaliste d'arrêter tous les feux avec l'un de ces traitements. Ce n'est pas le but du projet. Il s'agit surtout de réduire l'intensité d'un incendie s'il se produit », rappelle Robert Coulter.Après une saison catastrophique, West-Kelowna se relève doucement de son traumatisme et cherche des solutions. Car les mois sont comptés : des feux brûlent encore sous la neige, et dès mars 2024, ils ressortiront, d'un bout à l'autre du Canada. L'arrivée du phénomène El Niño, annoncée par les scientifiques, pourrait aggraver la prochaine saison.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The #1 complaint the Cortes Island Fire Department received this summer was that some people continued to use chainsaws despite the drought and the possibility of sparking a wildfire. Interim Fire Chief Eli McKenty said this occurred in multiple locations across Cortes Island. He explained the current regulations are ‘too fuzzy' to enforce and a possible solution may be adding chainsaw use to the proposed Cortes Island Open Burning Bylaw currently before the Strathcona Regional District Board. The topic came up during an interview with Cortes Currents last week. Chief McKenty was praising the community for the manner in which they were adapting to the threat of wildfires:  “I think that people's awareness of wildfire risk and their efforts at mitigating that through FireSmart preparedness continues to grow. I think that's super important. Also, I think we've had fewer burning complaints this year than some years, which is good and indicates that people are being careful and aware of the dangers. So all of that's very encouraging.” This prompted Cortes Currents to ask, “What about people using chainsaws during the summer?” 
EM: “That's a tricky one and I have had more phone calls on that topic than anything else this summer.” “It is regulated by the province under the B.C. Wildfire Act, we actually don't have any jurisdiction at this point over either open burning or chainsaw use. The regulations around it are fairly complex, and unfortunately, there's a certain amount of room for interpretation too. I have had quite different interpretations from two different people at BC Wildfire, because I've phoned for clarification on a number of occasions.” “Basically, there's a list on the BC wildfire website of high risk activities, which includes chainsaw use and clearing. The language around where the chainsaw can be used is a little bit fuzzy. In addition, where you can use it is based on the fire weather index at whatever you determine is the most relevant weather station for your area.  We have weather stations. There's one on Maurelle Island, which I think is geographically the closest, but it's not very representative of the weather on Cortes. There's also Powell River, Quinsam and Theodosia Inlet.”  “Then there's other complications around how many days the fire danger rating has been in its current state, and those determine how long of a fire watch you have to have. That's very complex, and it's primarily written for industry, although it does seem to apply to private property as well.” 
“I would like to have a lot more clarity about it.” 
“One of the things that's in discussion at the Regional District right now is the possibility of having our own Open Burning Bylaw. We had a situation, I think it was in July, where the province briefly lifted the campfire ban on Cortes because the bulk of the area that we're grouped in with had had enough rain that the danger was reduced, whereas we hadn't had any rain. People were quite legitimately concerned that we were allowing campfires when we really shouldn't have been.” “The solution to that is if we have our own local bylaw that supersedes the provincial regulation and we can regulate it ourselves if we choose. If the Regional District passes a bylaw enabling that, I believe that chainsaw use could also be included, but that's something that the community would have to consider, whether that was something that they would like to have locally regulated.” If the SRD adopts chainsaw regulations, they would most likely only apply to the part of Cortes Island within the Fire Protection Area. This does not include the northern part of the island, the southern shores of Gorge Harbour, Tiber Bay or Tla'amin First Nation land.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - At the regular SRD board meeting on April 26th (minutes), a couple of issues of interest to Cortes residents were discussed. There were new developments in the story of SRD's proposal to centralise rural fire hall administration; this was covered by Roy Hales on Monday. The Board also discussed the “Community Resiliency Investment Grant” and its uses, specifically the provision of wood chipping service for properties with road access, and the local use of those wood chips. Sean Koopman reported to the Board that SRD successfully applied for $300,000 under the Resiliency grant for this year: So on November 23rd, 2022, this board passed a resolution authorizing the Regional District to apply for $300,000 for this grant. While we haven't officially received the grant yet, it is incoming soon, so it's non-officially official. Part of the activities that the board approved were wood chipping for road accessible properties in electoral area A and D. What we started with this grant last year was putting out calls to community organizations for the wood chips that come from this grant — under the UBCM criteria that they be disposed of 100 metres from structures. Although initially those wood chips were available only to community service organisations — not to individuals or businesses — the Board at the April 26th meeting voted to offer wood chips to any applicant willing to come and collect them from a central location. Delivery of wood chips, however, would still only be available to community organisations. Individuals would have to sign a waiver or agreement promising to dispose of them safely and according to those FireSmart guidelines. The Surge Narrows Parents' Association put in a request for wood chips to cover their playground, which was granted. Wood chips are stored and composting on Cortes in several locations; the composted matter will be available to farmers in two or three years. The Seniors' Association is using the chipped wood for their trail maintenance; Linnaea Farm and the Dillon Creek Restoration project have also benefited. Area B Director Mark Vonesch asked why Quadra and Cortes residents were not being offered the chipping service this year, despite SRD's successful grant application. Question — Quadra and Cortes were not not being offered this year. Is that just a matter of sort of like every other year?Different locations based on the budget you're working with? Sean Koopman explained that Quadra has gone over their budget for wood chipping in the last two years, and the situation on Cortes was complicated by SCCA's plans for fire safety improvements at Manson's Hall: Quadra has gone over budget with this amount in the last two years. That's a separate conversation. Cortes, the reason we didn't go for it this year, is this grant can allow for $50,000 per electoral area. And Fire Smart Renovations for community buildings is an eligible criteria. Mansons Hall has about $80,000 worth of project that they want to undertake. They received a grant for $25,000 for that. So talking with Tammy and the SCCA I said, I will max out the SRD's 50,000 [from the Community Resiliency grant]. So if the SRD gets the grant — 50,000 from us, 25 from their grant — then that allows them to undertake those Fire Smart renovations to that important community building. For Cortes, we aim to get back to the chipping next year. This was was a special one time thing in partnership with the SCCA. It appears that SCCA has a major fire safety upgrade planned for Mansons Hall, similar to what's already been done for the Gorge Hall but on a larger scale. In the meantime, it looks like Cortes residents may have access to those stored wood chips — by applying to SRD, filling out some forms, and doing their own pickup and delivery.

In our third and final episode from the International Association of Wildland Fire conference in Edmonton, Alberta, we spoke with FireSmart program manager Magda Zachara about Firesmart's objective to build scalable wildfire prevention and mitigation programming across Canada. Magda spoke about Firesmart's programming and the ways they've build more engagement with communities that want to improve fire resilience and home hardening. To learn more about Firesmart Canada, check out their website. Click here to donate to our Patreon—for a limited time, those who donate at the $20 level this month will receive a Life with Fire Calendar! 

This month, the SpokenWeb Podcast features an episode created by our former supervising producer and project manager Judith Burr. This audio is part of Judith's podcast, “Listening to Fire Knowledges in and around the Okanagan Valley,” which she produced as her master's thesis at UBC-Okanagan. While Judith was working on The SpokenWeb Podcast, she was also working on the research methodology of making a podcast as thesis and on the compiling of interviews and tape that would become the sound of this representation and intervention in ecological thinking. The episode features a number of Judith's interviews about living with wildfires in the Okanagan, including the story and poetry of Canadian poet Sharon Thesen. Listeners of the SpokenWeb Podcast might remember Thesen from past episodes, including Episode 7 of last season about the Women and Words Collection, or from episodes of our sister podcast SoundBox Signals produced by the Audio-Media-Poetry Lab at UBCO. In Judee's conversations with Sharon and other interviewees, we hear first-hand perspectives of those who have witnessed and lived through the dangers of these wildfires. We hear about challenges of resource management and land-use planning in fire-prone geographies. And we hear about the role that storytelling may have to play in helping us reckon with these challenges.SpokenWeb is a monthly podcast produced by the SpokenWeb team as part of distributing the audio collected from (and created using) Canadian Literary archival recordings found at universities across Canada. To find out more about Spokenweb visit: spokenweb.ca . If you love us, let us know! Rate us and leave a comment on Apple Podcasts or say hi on our social media @SpokenWebCanada. Episode Notes from "Listening to Fire Knowledges in and around the Okanagan Valley":This episode features interviews with poet Sharon Thesen; foresters Daryl Spencer, Dave Gill, and Gord Pratt; UBCO Living with Wildfire project lead Mathieu Bourbonnais; forest technologist Jeff Eustache; and FireSmart program lead Kelsey Winter. They discuss protecting communities in and around the Okanagan Valley from wildfire danger in light of recent wildfire seasons.“Listening to Fire Knowledges in and around the Okanagan Valley” was created by Judith Burr as her master's thesis project in the Digital Arts & Humanities theme of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies program at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. This work was supported by UBC-Okanagan's feminist digital humanities lab, the AMP Lab. This project was also supported in part by the Government of Canada's New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) through UBC Okanagan's “Living with Wildfire” Project. This podcast was created on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. EPISODE PRODUCER: Judith (Judee) Burr is a PhD student in the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia. She recently completed her MA in the IGS Digital Arts & Humanities theme at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan. Her research uses audio media and storytelling tools to examine the complexities of human culture in fire-adapted landscapes, connecting to the rich world of the digital environmental humanities. She has worked as an environmental researcher and writer on projects including the Value of Rhode Island Forests report and the Forestry for RI Birds project. She also co-founded the live lit reading series Stranger Stories in Providence. She graduated with a BS in Earth Systems and a BA in Philosophy in 2012 from Stanford University, where she contributed to the podcasts Generation Anthropocene and Philosophy Talk. SHOW NOTESThese show notes are approximately in order of mention, rather than alphabetical. See them cited to specific moments of the episode using the episode transcript.In this episode, we hear clips from a cover of Bob Dylan's “All Along the Watchtower” from the Lent Fraser Wall Trio's album “Shadow Moon.” Used throughout this episode with permission from John Lent. The rest of the music in this episode is from Blue Dot Sessions, and you can find specific tracks cited in the transcript: https://app.sessions.blue.Catherine Owens, Locations of Grief: An Emotional Geography (Hamilton: Wolsack & Wynn, 2020).“It is clear that a successful record of fire suppression has led to a fuel buildup in the forests of British Columbia. The fuel buildup means that there will be more significant and severe wildfires, and there will be more interface fires, unless action is taken.” Filmon, G. (2004). Firestorm 2003: Provincial Review. Government of British Columbia, https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/wildfire-status/governance/bcws_firestormreport_2003.pdf.“Master Plan for Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park.” 1990. Kamloops, B.C.: B.C. Parks, Southern Interior Region.My analysis of B.C. Wildfire Service data using QGIS. Okanagan watershed defined by watershed atlas polygons and compiled by fellow Living with Wildfire researcher Renée Larsen. Area burned data from: “Fire Perimeters – Historical.” Statistics and Geospatial Data. BC Wildfire Service. Available at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/about-bcws/wildfire-statistics.Xwisten et al., “Xwisten Report Executive Summary,” Revitalizing traditional burning: Integrating Indigenous cultural values into wildfire management and climate change adaptation planning (Department of Indigenous Services Canada (DISC) First Nations Adapt Program, 2019), Accessed April 2022 at https://www.fness.bc.ca/core-programs/forest-fuel-management/first-nations-adapt-program.; Eli Hirtle, Xwisten (Bridge River Indian Band) (Masinipayiwin Films, 2019), Accessed April 2022 at https://vimeo.com/383104228.; Shackan Indian Band et al., “Shackan Indian Band Report Executive Summary,” Revitalizing traditional burning: Integrating Indigenous cultural values into wildfire management and climate change adaptation planning (Department of Indigenous Services Canada (DISC) First Nations Adapt Program, 2019), https://www.fness.bc.ca/core-programs/forest-fuel-management/first-nations-adapt-program.; Eli Hirtle, Shackan Indian Band (Masinipayiwin Films, 2019), https://vimeo.com/383108850.Forest Enhancement Society of BC, “Projects,” Accessed May 2022, https://www.fesbc.ca/projects.Amy Thiessen, “Sharon Thesen's ‘The Fire',” English Undergraduate Honours Thesis, 2020, https://sharonthesenthefire.omeka.net/about. More Resources: FireSmart Canada, https://firesmartcanada.ca/; Blazing the Trail, https://firesmartcanada.ca/product/blazing-the-trail-celebrating-indigenous-fire-stewardship.; Nature Conservancy, Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREX), http://www.conservationgateway.org/ConservationPractices/FireLandscapes/HabitatProtectionandRestoration/Training/TrainingExchanges/Pages/fire-training-exchanges.aspx; Karuk Climate Change Projects, “Fire Works!,” https://karuktribeclimatechangeprojects.com/fire-works; NC State University, “Prescribed Burn Associations,” https://sites.cnr.ncsu.edu/southeast-fire-update/prescribed-burn-associations; Firesticks Alliance, https://www.firesticks.org.au.   More Fire Podcasts: Amy Cardinal Christianson and Matthew Kristoff (Hosts), Good Fire Podcast, https://yourforestpodcast.com/good-fire-podcast; Amanda Monthei (host), Life with Fire Podcast, https://lifewithfirepodcast.com; Adam Huggins and Mendel Skulski (hosts), “On Fire: Camas, Cores, and Spores (Part 1),” Future Ecologies Podcast, August 29, 2018, https://www.futureecologies.net/listen/fe1-5-on-fire-pt-1.

BC reaches settlement with Purdue Pharma over opioid addictions, Remembering Terry Fox &  Lytton one year later - June 29th, 2022   BC reaches settlement with Purdue Pharma over opioid addictions  Guest: Reidar Mogerman, lawyer handling the class action cost recovery litigation for the province of British Columbia   Remembering Terry Fox Guest: Fred Fox, brother, manager of supporter relations at the Terry Fox Foundation  Lytton one year later: Residents  Guests: Jennifer Thoss, Lytton property owner & Rosalin Miles of Lytton First Nation  Lytton one year later: Prevention  Guest: Alan Westhaver, ForestWise Environmental Consulting Ltd, co-author of a report on the Lytton fire for the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and co-creator of Canada's FireSmart program.    

Guest: Alan Westhaver, ForestWise Environmental Consulting Ltd, co-author of a report on the Lytton fire for the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and co-creator of Canada's FireSmart program.

People in British Columbia will be better protected from the impacts of wildfires, flooding and extreme heat through the actions included in the new Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy.The strategy includes actions across ministries supported by $513 million of investment to ensure British Columbia is prepared for climate impacts in the near term, while setting the foundation for future action.“Last year's extreme weather left no doubt that British Columbia is directly experiencing impacts of the climate crisis,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “We're making record investments to recover from last year's extreme floods and fires and adapt to future climate changes, as well as working to cut climate pollution through our CleanBC plan. We're committed for the long-term. This new strategy takes targeted action now to support food security and resilient local agriculture, create better floodplain risk mapping to improve how we plan our communities, support more cultural and prescribed burning in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, and build more resilient highways and infrastructure so they can withstand future climate impacts.”The strategy outlines a range of government actions to help people and communities prepare including:an expanded role for the BC Wildfire Service to provide enhanced wildfire prevention and preparedness;the development of a comprehensive provincial flood strategy and flood resilience plan to ensure communities are better protected from extreme flooding;an extreme heat preparedness plan to help people and communities stay safe during heat waves and extreme heat emergencies; andinvestments in nature-based solutions that will reduce the impacts of flooding and droughts by restoring healthy watersheds.“Restoring the health of Kus-kus-sum watershed on K'omoks territory is critically important to live in balance with nature and prepare for the impacts of climate change, like extreme flooding and drought,” said Hegus Nicole Rempel, K'omoks First Nation. “K'omoks First Nation is working with local partners to turn a former sawmill site into critical habitat for salmon, herring, migratory birds and other species. By removing cement, regrading natural slope and adding native plants to the area, we're healing vital ecosystems and building greater resiliency to climate change.”The strategy also includes investments for First Nations and local governments to increase wildfire protection through community-led FireSmart activities. Last summer, the town of Logan Lake successfully fought back the threat of wildfire at its municipal borders, thanks to the work of local firefighters and years of implementing FireSmart practices.“Climate change has already had significant impacts on communities like Logan Lake through increased wildfires. As our efforts have shown, investing in FireSmart and preparing for wildfires ahead of time is extremely valuable and effective at reducing impacts to communities,” said Robin Smith, mayor, Logan Lake. “The new provincial adaptation strategy includes increased supports through FireSmart to help more local governments reduce the risks of wildfires and protect the places we call home.”The Province developed the strategy based on a wide range of input, including significant feedback through two working groups and multiple engagements with Indigenous Peoples and organizations. Additional input came from the general public, local governments, academics, businesses, non-profits, youth and others.The Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy is part of the CleanBC Roadmap to 2030. The roadmap is the Province's plan to expand and accelerate climate action by building on B.C.'s natural advantages – abundant and clean electricity, innovative technology and a highly skilled workforce. It sets a path for increased collaboration to build a British Columbia that works for everyone.

Today we catch up with Regional Fire Chief, Jody Butz about Emergency Preparedness Week. He goes over river breakup, being FireSmart, remembering the 2016 wildfire, and the VPR program.

On today's show: COVID cases continue to surge in Florida Is BC headed for a 4th wave? Big changes coming to iconic Granville Island restaurant How one small BC community is staying FireSmart!

Publisher Peter McCully chats with Willow Bloomquist from the Dashwood Volunteeer Fire Department, about wild fire season and the Fire Smart BC Program.

On this edition of Fort McMurray Matters, we learn more about the FireSmart program and we get some tips to help reduce the risk on properties.

David Miers, from Vancouver Fire Rescue

Roy L Hales/ CKTZ News - Cortes and Quadra Islands will receive a significant chunk of the $394,000 FireSmart Economic Recovery Grant the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) just received. Where the FireSmart funds are going According to Shaun Koopman, SRD Protective Services Coordinator, “So for Cortes Island this is about $180,000 of wildfire risk reduction.” This money will be used for renovations at: the Linnaea Farm Education Centre and Gorge Hall, which serve as emergency support service facilities in the advent of an evacuation. the Whaletown Fire Hall In collaboration with the Cortes Forestry General Partnership, the grant will also fund a 4-hectare Wildfire Fuel Treatment on Cortes Island through activities such as pruning, thinning and removing ladder fuels to reduce both the amount and continuity of burnable vegetation. About $60,000 is for renovations at Camp Homewood's residential quarters and Quadra Island Bible Church - both of which are designated as evacuation centres, should the need arise. Full community assessment reports are to be prepared for the Klahoose and We Wai Kai First Nations. “We will be looking at all their critical infrastructure and community buildings, There is a template that you fill out for them and then submit that template to the province for further funding,” said Koopman. The rest of the grant funding goes to the Villages of Gold River, Tahsis and Zeballos as well as Ehattesaht/Chinehkint, Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k:tles7et'h', and Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations. >>> Building renovations on Cortes & Quadra Koopman went on to describe the renovations that will be carried out at each Cortes and Quadra location. Camp Homewood - replacing the cedar shake roof with a metal roof Gorge Hall - fixing gaps on the building; putting up fireproof siding in the lower part of the building; installing multi-pane windows; putting a fire proof partition around the generator Linnaea Farm Educational Building - replacing the wooden deck and stairs with a metal deck and stairs; installing a fireproof base along the structure of the building Quadra Island Bible Church - closing in the sides of the building with fire resistant materials Whaletown Fire Hall - removing some of the outbuildings and a mobile trailor He said that the SRD has Memorandum of Understandings in place with each of these Cortes and Quadra non-profit owned facilities, to support Emergency Support Services during a disaster. Koopman explained, ”For many years, these organizations have been incredible supporters of our regional emergency program through hosting training sessions and engaging in numerous emergency planning conversations. It feels great to be able to provide them with meaningful funding to decrease the wildfire vulnerability of their facilities.” Photo: Renovations at Gorge Hall - Courtesy SRD

Gabbing about Gardening Episode 11 presents: - Arzeena Hamir gabs about “Watering Your Garden in High Heat”- Jennifer Banks Doll gabs about “Summer salads, cilantro sauce, succession planting & pacing yourself”- Mike Gall gabs about “How to FireSmart Your Garden”Be sure to follow us on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/QuadraIslandandCortesIslandGardensInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabbingaboutgardening/Radio Show Music:- "Willow" - the all-woman band from Quadra Island playing "C-Minor", "Carry On" and more.- "Pato Banton" Reggae legend and his band playing "New Day Dawning". Thank you to our sponsors!- Speedibin Backyard Composters - https://speedibin.com- Cortes Island Market

Art Knapp's in Prince George is piloting a new FireSmart landscaping program.

Modernizing maternity leave; Prince Rupert school district cutting teachers; High demand for food banks during COVID; Planning for the 2022 B.C. Summer Games in Prince George; Restoring the land around the Chilako River; Petition calls for Hart Highway motel to be shut down; Disability Alliance BC not happy with B.C.'s new accessibility act; Preparing for a 'one-shot summer'; Graphic novel takes on colonization and celebrates Queer pride; Planting a garden to protect against forest fires.

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - Cortes Island's updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan will be completed mid-April.   The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) will also be holding two virtual sessions with wildfire expert Bruce Blackwell on Tuesday April 13 and Wednesday April 14 from 7-8pm (both sessions will be the same). These sessions will be devoted to the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, the island's wildfire risk, and on ways that you can incorporate FireSmart principles on your properties and neighbourhoods. There will also be a question and answer period.   So I asked SRD Protective Services Coordinator Shaun Koopman, Is there anything new? “Ahhh, I wouldn't say so - but I spend every sing day in this area. If a Cortes Islander reviewed the ten year old plan and hasn't engaged in any wildfire planning, things might look a little different, but I am going to wait for the engagement session because I don't want to take away from the consultant,” he responded. One of the key elements will be looking at the old wildfire map: - What changes have there been? - What are the most hazardous areas on both private and public land? - What are the areas most in need of treatment? What does treatment consist of? The first step in a treatment consists of drawing up a ‘prescription.' This identifies specific trees that must be taken out and potential fuel areas for a wildfire. It is also the document that will be presented to the SRD Board, when applying for funding. Several areas on Cortes Island have already been identified for treatment: - 11 hectares of Crown land in Carrington Bay - 10 hectares in Squirrel Cove - 4 hectares adjacent to the Cortes Island Recycling Centre = a 10 hectare FireSmart education area in the Regional Park at Hank's Beach The SRD also wants to reduce the risk of wildfire to community buildings. - Replacing some of the siding with non-flammable material, - making sure there is a six centimetre non flammable buffer between the ground and the start oif the building. - replacing some of the gutters - replacing wooden stairs with metal stairs

Roy L Hales / Cortes Currents - The Strathcona Regional District was awarded a $65,000 Community Resiliency Investment grant for Cortes Island, so I asked SRD Protective services Coordinator Shaun Koopman what does Cortes Island get out of it? Part of the money will be will be used to pay for a report on “the current structural capacity for wildfire response on Cortes Island.” There is also funding for “fire entrapment avoidance and incident command system training” for the Cortes Island Fire Department. The Regional District will provide a free wood chipping service to Cortes Islanders who wish to take advantage of it. When this service was offered before, 13 tons of wood debris were hauled off Cortes Island and 30 tons off Quadra Island. “Once those projects have been taken care of and I know how much we have left over to spend, we'll be allowing neighbourhoods to put together more specific plans with the help of a certified FireSmart consultant,” said Koopman.

Roy L Hales / Cortes Current - The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) is building up Cortes Island's emergency preparedness systems and this requires money. They have already received a $65,000 Community Resiliency grant this year, for things like wood chipping, more intense training training for the Cortes Island Fire Department and hiring a consultant to help neighbourhoods prepare wildfire threat assessment reports.There is more coming. SRD Protective services Coordinator Shaun Koopman explained they have applied for another $265,000 of funding. Received to date for 2021: $65,000 Community Resiliency Investment grant received to -Develop wildfire fuel prescriptions -Provide free driveway woodchipping -Assess structural protection and wildfire capacity response capacity (report on Cortes Island) -Provide Incident Command System and Fire Entrapment and Avoidance training for the Cortes Island Fire Department -Hire a professional FireSmart consultant to work with neighbourhoods and develop Neighbourhood Wildfire Threat Assessment Reports with them Further Applications: $265,066   Emergency Support Services – (results known end of April) - $5,000 for post-earthquake supplies for Cortes Island. Sea Level Rise Mapping – (results known end of May) - on both Cortes and Quadra. Koopman says it is ‘hard to ballpark how much money would go to each island, but you could put $75,000 for Cortes.' The We Wai Kai and Klahoose First Nations provided letters of support for this grant application. FireSmart Economic Recovery - $185,066 for Cortes Island (critical infrastructure wildfire risk reduction and fuel treatment by Recycling Centre)

How can communities be protected from fires, without firefighters getting diseases, or being injured or killed? How can our attitudes about fire and firefighter workplace culture change, so that more lives are saved, those of community members and firefighters? Listen to this timely, exciting episode with a fire culture expert who has put a lot of thought and time into these questions, a master storyteller: "Fighting for the Soul of Firefighting - Conversation With Burton Clark" (Multi-Hazards Podcast S03 E06).  Dr Burton A Clark Bio Dr. Burton A. Clark, Executive Fire Officer (EFO), has been in the fire service for 50 years, including the District of Columbia in Washington DC the Capital of the USA, Prince George’s County Fire Department in Maryland and the USA National Fire Academy. He served as Assistant Fire Chief in Laurel, Maryland and as an Operations Section Chief for National emergencies and disasters. Presently he serves on the Board of Advisors for the Fire Service Psychology Association and the Board of Governors for the John M. Moschella Fire Service Research Grant Trust. Dr. Clark is a Technical Expert Reviewer for the USA National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention program and a doctoral dissertation advisor at various universities. He is the author of “I Can’t Save You, But I’ll Die Trying. The American Fire Culture” which I am now reading, it's chock full of great stories & a call to reform this great profession and the way society looks at fires. Dr. Clark studies fire culture worldwide, his web page is  www.americanfireculture.com

As climate change heats up the earth, wildfires are becoming bigger and badder.  What are some solutions?  How can communities be protected while we fight fire with fire and control the uncontrollable?  Check out: Wildfires in a Changing Climate - Interview with Robert W. Gray, expert fire ecologist from British Columbia (BC), Canada.  And be sure to check out the Study Guide for the program!  Click on the top left where it says "Pdf" above the date!  https://multi-hazards.libsyn.com/wildfires-in-a-changing-climate-interview-with-robert-w-gray Robert W. Gray Bio Robert W. Gray is Fire Ecologist at R.W. Gray Consulting Ltd; researching fuel treatment effectiveness and effects of past wildfires.  He's also a regular contributor to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) TV and Radio and the local Vancouver Sun news on wildfire science and policy.  R.W. Gray Consulting, Ltd. specialises in the research and application of many facets of wildland fire and ecological restoration. Fire research focuses on historic fire regimes and related ecosystem structure and composition, the immediate and long-term effects of applied fire, and integrated wildland fuels management including the use of fuels to produce bioenergy. Ecological restoration focuses on elements of dry forest ecosystems, their historic fidelity and ecological integrity, and the application of restoration strategies. Wildland fire operations include the application of prescribed fire to meet specific resource management objectives. R.W. Gray has been a qualified burn boss in the United States (US) and Canada since 1995. Wildland fire management includes the arenas of fuel hazard analysis and mitigation, policy, education, social acceptance, and training. Clients and collaborators include: Parks Canada, the United States Department of the Interior (USDI) Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, Canadian Forestry Service, Government of Mongolia, British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Forests and Range, BC Ministry of Environment, State of Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, The World Bank, University of British Columbia, University of Washington, University of Idaho, The Nature Conservancy (US), Nature Conservancy Canada, City of Cranbrook (BC), City of Kimberley (BC), Chelan County (Washington State), and numerous First Nations, industry, legal, and environmental groups.  Robert W Gray has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Montana in both Fire and Forest Ecology.  

Pamela knew something about everything and knew it better than everyone else. That's how they found out about the firesmarting.

On this edition of Fort McMurray Matters, we speak with the RMWB about ongoing FireSmart initiatives.

Christian Kirsch has 22 years of solid experience in forestry. 15 years of experience running a small forestry business. He has in-depth knowledge of the principles and practices of forestry, including best management practices, water quality, tree and shrub selection, planting, pre-commercial thinning, harvesting, and sustainability. He also owns Kirsch Forest Management Location Coeur d Alene Idaho where he has done: • Managed timberland for private land owners, which entailed procurement, marketing, cruising, property line identification, sustainable harvest management plans and following the best management practices for water quality. • Numerous direct timber sales for Idaho Department of Lands. • Private contractor for three northern Idaho counties under the Firesmart program. Created defensible fire space for private landowners, which live within the wildland urban interface. Cleared road right of way for emergency vehicle access. Created fuel breaks which protected subdivisions and communities. Met with landowners and discussed present fire dangers within their property while creating a treatment plan. • Contracted for Coeur d'Alene Tribe fuels reduction projects. • Owned and managed two ground skidding crews, and a log loader while harvesting lodgepole pine for house logs under a contract with the Yakima Tribe. • Full service tree removal company for private homeowners and city governments. • Proficiency at developing objectives, formulating policies and making decisions. • Sound knowledge of operating goals and considerations in the field of forestry. • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. This includes the ability to explain forest issues and concepts to individuals and groups with varying levels of understanding. • Ability to work effectively within a team environment and to work proactively. • Strong time management skills and the ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment. • Ability to coordinate multiple complex tasks and projects concurrently. • Strong organizational skills, interpersonal skills, attention to detail and always safety first Want to be featured? Schedule your interview with Talking Forests on this link: calendly.com/talkingforests Voice by Gordon Collier www.linkedin.com/in/jgordoncollier/ Spring by Ikson soundcloud.com/ikson Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/5WPnrvEMIdo --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/talkingforests/support

Wildfires are becoming more and more of a problem for modern society. In the past decade, we have seen an unprecedented increase in the number of catastrophic fires. Climate change has lengthened the fire season, increased temperatures, and increased severity and longevity of droughts. These new conditions drastically increases the probability of catastrophic fires, as is evident by the community destroying fires we have seen in the last 8 years in California, British Columbia and Alberta. Firesmart is a way to protect your home and community from these threats…and it works. Laura Stewart is the President of Firesmart Canada and came on to give her thoughts on the issue, and what people can do to prepare for wildfires.

Spring is here and with it comes some changes! In this episode we discuss our first grass fire of the year, flood prep, FireSmart principals and some tips on how we prep ourselves and our trucks for the season. Hey Fire Family, please don't forget to Share, Like, Subscribe and visit us on our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/VFFPodcastDTFF/ to do the same! If you have a subject that you would like us to discuss, a question that you would like to ask or if you would like to be ON the next Episode, then you can message us on our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/VFFPodcastDTFF/. Thanks all you DTFF'ers for all your support and stay safe Fire Family! #DTFFpodcast #Firefighter #Firefighting #ChiefMiller

On this edition of Fort McMurray Matters, we hear from Fire Chief Jody Butz and members of the RMWB's FireSmart team about FireSmart initiatives completed and taking place across Wood Buffalo.

Nozzles and Hose Lines and Doors OH MY! We discuss the tactics and approach of a three person attack team along with some tricks that we use to keep everyone in the loop both in and outside of the structure. Topics Discussed: - Nozzle Patterns - Hose Movement - Door Control - FireSmart Canada - Bumping Up - Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) Hey Fire Family, please don't forget to Share, Like, Subscribe and visit us on our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/VFFPodcastDTFF/ to do the same! If you have a subject that you would like us to discuss, a question that you would like to ask or if you would like to be ON the next Episode, then you can message us on our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/VFFPodcastDTFF/. Thanks all you DTFF'ers for all your support and stay safe Fire Family! #DTFFpodcast #Firefighter #Firefighting #AaronFields #nozzleforward #FireSmart

Wildfires seem to have become more of a problem for communities in recent years. With so many rural towns and municipalities surrounded by forest land destined to burn it has become apparent that Firesmart activities are needed to keep them safe. Firesmart is a management system that helps reduce wildfire risk. The pelican mountain project is a research site dedicated to testing wildfire activity through different types of vegetation management. Basically they are doing a bunch of different things to the landscape and setting it on fire to see what happens. From different mulching techniques, pruning and other methods they are building a baseline for us to understand the fuel types that are created after Firesmart vegetation management has taken place. We discussed Firesmart principals, Slave Lake and Fort McMurry fires, specifics around vegetation management for reducing fire behavior and risk, planting larch to reduce fire risk, fire risk in Jasper after pine beetle attack, First Nations involvement, and much more.

EPIC Podcast (Emergency Preparedness in Canada) brings you a quick hazard-specific episode on wildfire mitigation, in which we discuss the FireSmart program! All this and more on this episode of EPIC Podcast - Current, Relevant, Canadian

On this edition of Fort McMurray Matters, Fire Chief Jody Butz and Operations Manager with the Recovery Task Force Erin O'Neill discuss the region's new wildfire mitigation strategy and how people can be FireSmart at home.

Today on Fort McMurray Matters, Operations Manager with Recovery Task Erin O'Neill and Communication Strategist Jordan Redshaw with the RMWB discuss FireSmart, firebreaks, rebuilds, and more.

FireSmart is living with, managing for wildfires and preparing for the threat of wildfire. There has been a large amount of wildfires already this summer, so Laura Stewart, the President of FireSmart Canada, is on with Angela to chat about what is being done to keep people and places safe.

Two consultants who worked on Revelstoke’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan say now’s the time to get your property ready for a potential interface fire. Archie McConnachie served as a senior government wildfire manager in Revelstoke before retiring 15 years ago. He worked alongside forester Cindy Pearce on the 2015 update of Revelstoke’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan update. McConnachie told the Mountaineer that this season is as dry or even a little worse than 2003, when wildfires swept through B.C. and caused massive damage.

Revelstoke residents are encouraged to attend wildfire FireSmart sessions to learn how to prepare their properties before this fire season, which is shaping up to be drier and hotter than usual. The May 26–28 sessions will also provide Revelstoke residents the opportunity to review a new draft fuel break plan for the community, part of ongoing wildfire management planning in Revelstoke. Consultant Cindy Pearce explained the new fire break design maps out existing fuel breaks around Revelstoke – such as roadways, hydro lines, and ski runs on Mount Mackenzie – and also proposes some new ones. The gaps in forest cover are used as defensive barriers in the event of a wildfire.