House in Rose Hill surrounded by pine trees (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

FIRESMART

KFR outlines FireSmart solutions following devastating 2021 fire season

Apr 26, 2022 | 3:25 PM

KAMLOOPS — Rose Hill is the most forested neighbourhood in Kamloops. It puts residents there at greater risk of a wildfire.

“We have a neighbourhood [in Rose Hill] that is uphill. Fire likes to travel uphill,” said Kamloops Fire Rescue Life Safety Educator Jeff Pont. “We have a little bit heavier fire load with the bigger timber.”

As daunting as it might be — especially in areas like Rose Hill that’s surrounded by big pine trees — Kamloops Fire Rescue recommends removing any cedar bushes from your property and keeping a 1.5-metre safeguard around your house.

“If you’re surrounded by forest, you’re definitely surrounded by fire load around you and you want to figure out what you can do to protect your home specificially,” said Pont. “And we always say, 1.5 metres around the entire perimetre of your house, you want a non-combustible zone, so nothing that can burn in those three feet around your home.”

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KFR is providing free FireSmart assessments for any Kamloops residents who wants one.

After last year’s Juniper East wildfire, more people seems to be interesting in keeping their properties as safe as possible from fire.

“I think after the fire season we had last year, I think people are more aware of the area we live in and how prone we are to wildfire,” said Pont. “As we at KFR have had more fires — grassfires in recent months, even when it’s cooler out — people are becoming even more aware, and that’s where we come in and help you out with any concerns you’ve got.”

KFR only offers the free assessments at the moment, but it hopes to expand the help it can lend residents.

Kelowna Fire Rescue has launched a pilot program that chips any debris cleaned up from properties.

Kamloops Fire Rescue hopes to offer something similar soon.

“Building a FireSmart program, it takes time. We’ve been doing it for a while, but we’ve started to ramp it up. There are things in the future we want to offer and hope to offer. If people decide to do the work we recommend — remove trees, remove shrubs — we’ll be able to offer free chipping, haul the waste away.”

To request a FireSmart assessment, you can fill out a form here or call Jeff Pont at 250-320-7641.