Media Advisory

Community Wildfire Protection Fuel Break Design Ready for Public Review and Comment

Some homes and businesses in forested areas in the City of Revelstoke and the adjacent Regional District are at risk from uncontrollable wildfires during high and extreme fire weather conditions. Revelstokes Community Wildland Fire Protection Committee has designed a network of fuel breaks to reduce this risk for some areas. The community is invited to provide comments on the draft design. Fuel breaks are strategically located strips of low volume fuel where the intensity of a uncontrolled wildfire is lowered so that firefighters can safely take actions to put the fire out. This project identifies existing highways, transmission lines, wide ski runs and older forests that create fuel breaks around portions of the community. Areas have been defined where fuel reduction is needed by removing dead materials, pruning trees and reducing tree density to complete a network of effective fuel breaks. These fuel breaks will not stop spotting of wildfires into the community. Property owners need to FireSmart their homes and businesses to reduce wildfire risks.

We can get high and extreme wildfire conditions here in Revelstoke for 20 days a year on average and for up to 2 months in years like 2003 explains Archie McConnachie, retired manager of the Revelstoke wildfire base and a member of the project team. While fuel breaks will reduce the risks, we all need to ramp up our preparedness and start reducing the wildfire fuels on our own properties. Community members are invited to attend neighbourhood meetings to learn more about how to FireSmart your property and to provide input on the draft fuel break design:

May 26 (7 pm) Coast Hillcrest Hotel - Columbia Park, Clearview Heights, Johnson

Heights

May 27 (7 pm) Nordic Ski Lodge Begbie Bench and MacPherson area

May 28 (7 pm) Sutton Place Arrow Heights and Airport Road

The draft design is also available from the Fire Hall and the Citys website under the Fire Department. The draft design is also available from the Fire Hall and the Citys website under the Fire Department. The Committee has expressed support for the draft fuel break design prepared by the project team, states Rob Girard, Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services Chief. We are now seeking input from the community. The City has been pursuing stronger wildfire protection for almost a decade. Based on recommendations from a 2006 Community Wildfire Protection Plan, the City created the Community Wildland Fire Protection Committee in 2007 to advise the City on wildfire protection

activities. The Committee includes representatives from the City, Regional District, provincial agencies, Parks Canada, CPR, RMR and the forest sector, as well as a public representative. All forested City-owned properties and the areas around the City water works have been assessed for wildfire risks and fuel management has been completed for the two areas that had unacceptable risks.

In 2009 an Enhanced Wildfire Risk Management Report was completed that recommended a high priority for a network of fuel breaks. The City secured funding from the Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative of the Union of BC Municipalities and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations as well as CBT for this project. The project is being completed by Archie McConnachie, Cindy Pearce of Mountain Labyrinths Inc. from Revelstoke, and B.A. Blackwell and Associates. The project includes the Revelstoke Fire Protection Area and forests within 2 kilometres of the Protection Area as well as Greeley Creek watershed and portions of Revelstoke Mountain Resort. The draft design is available for community review and comment until June 2, 2015. For more information

Rob Girard, Fire Chief

Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services

250 837-2884

rgirard@cityofrevelstoke.com

Cindy Pearce,

Project team leader

Mountain Labyrinths Inc.

250 837-8505

cindypearce@telus.net