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By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: It’s almost too late to prepare for wildfire season

Mar 17, 2024 | 6:00 AM

IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY NOTICED, temperatures are rising. An early spring has started. While most of us are preparing for a return to warmer weather, we pay relatively little attention to the consequences of an early warming trend. Extremely low snowpacks mean another round of drought will hit, heavy sprinkling regulations are going to be implemented again, lawns will become brown, many people with lovely gardens will not enjoy them when their plants droop. Will people want to enhance the beauty of their properties when the upkeep is so expensive?

Those of us in the city will feel the pain of climate change, but nowhere near as much as our rural neighbours needing to irrigate their fields and grow the produce needed to survive.

When these concerns face us, it’s easy to forget that protection against wildfires is just as important. The costs of wildfires are growing each year. Climate change is creating worsening conditions. The drying out of the forests means hotter fires — fires that spread more quickly and obliterate entire communities.

There are few of us who have any real plans in the event of a wildfire. I wonder how many of us have even read the FireSmart materials on the web that provide such a great resource. This week, as much as I hate to admit it, is the first time I’ve really gone through the material in depth. Lots of great information about more effective fireproofing of your property, preparing to leave if you have to, and knowing what emergency resources are available. There are people who can come to your home and help you make decisions on what needs to be done.

The cost of wildfires is huge. Being prepared is critical to keeping those costs down and of course keeping us alive. The city and regional district are working hard to clear away excess fuels on the forest floor. There is discussion going on to make better use of local firefighters. But the resources are limited.

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And we cannot continue to be our own worst enemies. We have to take the initiative and help ourselves. If we don’t, why should we expect our insurance companies or the government to get us off the hook when disaster strikes? If we’ve taken precautions, maybe a perk like a cut to our insurance rates would be in order to sweeten the pot. Incentives often help more than threats. Might be worth a closer look.

Strategies are great but to make them effective, work is required. A lot of us haven’t got the message yet. There is still a lot of work to be done.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.