South Green Lake Volunteer Fire Department

South Green Lake Volunteer Fire Department (SGLVFD) Captain Bob Bell and firefighter Ken Alexander are South Green Lake’s local FireSmart representatives (LFRs).

They recently completed FireSmart Canada’s mandatory two-day virtual LFR workshops and retained their LFR certifications.

In 2017, the Elephant Hill wildfire, which started some 80 kilometres away on Elephant Mountain near Ashcroft, burned through wildland forests close to the houses and cottages of the South Green Lake community. It came so close the homes and cottages, residents and vacationers had to be evacuated.

That’s when it sunk in that the South Green Lake community had a significant risk of wildfire damage and destruction of homes, cottages and properties.

After the Elephant Hill wildfire burned itself out, Alexander and Bell attended a FireSmart BC conference in Williams Lake and learned how to help mitigate the risk of wildfire damage for people living in the Wildland Urban Interface, where homes were built on or beside the forested wildland.

They were introduced to the FireSmart Neighbourhood Recognition Program #FireSmartCanada during the recent FireSmart Canada virtual workshops. Bell and Alexander think this program will be a perfect fit for the South Green Lake community.

The Neighbourhood Recognition Program will teach residents how live with wildfire threat and how to help increase their home’s chance of survival through proactive actions. The program also encourages neighbours to work together to mitigate the risk of wildfire destruction.

They decided to split the South Green Lake community into three neighbourhoods by using the format the fire department used – Alpha, Bravo and Charlie – during the 2017 Elephant Hill wildfire.

The first neighbourhood project will start in the Bravo Neighbourhood at lot address 501 (next to Access Road #5) and reach out to lot address 933 (next to Access Road 9A) where the SunsetView Site of the Green Lake Provincial Park begins on the shoreline side of Green Lake South Road.

The corresponding lot numbers on the off-shore side from Access Road #5 to the Buffalo Ranch at lot address 938, will also be in the Bravo neighbourhood.

Alexander and Bell will kick off the program by conducting the Neighbourhood Wildfire Hazard Assessment, which is an important step in the FireSmart Neighbourhood Recognition process because it will give residents a snapshot of wildfire risk in their neighbourhood.

It’s a tool to help neighbourhood residents understand their wildfire hazard, so they can learn how to reduce the risk.

Here is a key piece of information: Research has shown embers (burning pieces of airborne wood and/or vegetation) can be carried up to two kilometres by the wind. These embers and small surface fires are the two primary sources of home ignitions during wildfires. Residents can mitigate this risk by removing flammable materials within 10 metres of their homes or cottages and outbuildings.

Therefore, residents must prepare their homes, cottages and outbuildings to withstand embers and minimize the likelihood of flames or a surface fire touching their homes or any attachments and setting them on fire.

To make the FireSmart Neighbourhood Program work, someone in the neighbourhood needs to step up as the Neighbourhood Champion.

Neighbourhood Champions will help rally his or her neighbours, and also act as a point of communication with the local FireSmart representatives during the recognition and funding application process. Neighbourhood Champions also find other volunteers to serve on the FireSmart Neighbourhood committee.

Neighbourhood Champions will be provided with step-by-step support during the process.

For more information about the Neighbourhood Champion role, contact Bob Bell at 250-395-0622.

Anyone wanting assistance with a self assessment of their buildings and property or want more information about the Neighbourhood FireSmart Program can contact Bell or Ken Alexander at 250-456-7496 or cell at 250-319-8085 or e-mail at top_drawer@shaw.ca

#FireSmartBC

Skimmers were brought in to help battle the Elephant Hill wildfire that roared through the forest hills above the South Green Lake community in 2017.The crew from Quebec skimmed water from Green Lake and when their holding tanks were filled, they flew off to help battle the wildfire by dropping their payloads at nearby Jim Lake.

Ken Alexander photo