In the years 2017 and 2018 our region was made acutely aware of the devastating powers of wildfires.
Fires in 2017 drastically surpassed the ten year averages both in terms of the number of fires and the total hectares they burned, marking a trend that we will have to grapple with for years to come.
Even this early in 2019, our volunteer firefighters have already had to tend to a 1.1-hectare wildfire in Deka Lake, believed to have been human caused.
Our communities are working hard to mitigate the impacts of the coming fire seasons.
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Williams Lake, for example, has received a $100,000 CRI FireSmart Community Funding award for a Fuel Treatment project that will improve the fire resistance of multiple areas within city limits.
The increasing intensity of wildfires, however, requires the vigilance and action of all of our citizens; we all must preoccupy ourselves with prevention.
One important way of doing this is through the national FireSmart Program.
To be FireSmart is to understand that fire prevention is not just a matter for firefighters and their equipment – addressing the problem relies on what happens in our own backyards.
Doing so to protect our homes and communities from wildfires can be addressed through a multitude of easily to accomplish actions in the months and days leading up to wildfire seasons.
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The FireSmart manual, Protecting Your Community from Wildfire, goes over a vast number of actions each of us can and must do to protect ourselves, our neighbors, and our communities.
I encourage you all to take a look at the manual which can be accessed on the FireSmart Canada website.
There is much work to be done, but together I have no doubt that our communities will do all they can to mitigate the risks of wildfires in all facets of daily life. We’ll do what we must.
Donna Barnett is the Liberal MLA for the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
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