As wildfire season begins – 10 ways to protect your property from a wildfire
Photo: Wildfires in
Alberta (© Andy_Hu/iStock)
The annual fire watch
in Canada’s forested lands is upon us. Fort McMurray is still rebuilding two
years after its devastating wildfires. In the meantime, Friday July 7 marks the
one-year anniversary of the B.C. wildfires – that day a two-hectare
wildfire began west of 100 Mile House B.C. kicking off BC’s
record-breaking season. This year, there are 170 fires burning across B.C., 10
times more than the same time last year. Meanwhile, south of the border,
wildfires are ripping through California, Colorado, New Mexico and other
Western states and emptying out entire neighbourhoods.
Canada has a history of wildfires going back centuries including the Great Fire of 1852 which destroyed half of Montreal’s housing and left 10,000 people homeless, and the Great Miramichi Fire that devastated forests and communities throughout New Brunswick in 1825 (ranking it among the three largest forest fires ever recorded in North America).
More recently, FirstOnSite Restoration has been on the frontlines of some of the country’s largest forest fires, including last years B.C. wildfires and the 2011 Slave Lake, Alberta wildfire, in which one-third of the town was destroyed. It was also one of the earliest responders on scene after the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires, the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history and the costliest disaster in Canadian history.
Fires are a natural
part of the forest ecosystems in Canada. The burning recycles nutrients and
improves the habitat for animals. It is also good for trees in the long run. It
clears the forest floor of debris allowing existing trees to grow stronger and
healthier. However, fires can also be devastating to those located near a
wildfire-prone zone. Perennially, they pose a significant risk to communities
and business located close to forests. Based on lessons learned over the
past decade, here
are FirstOnSite Restoration’s 10 ways that residents and business
owners can protect their
property from a wildfire:
- Create
a 10-metre defensible space around your property
- Make
your roof fire-resistant and clear away gutter debris
- Keep
embers out
- Remove
close by coniferous trees
- Prune
your trees
- Keep
your lawn mowed
- Create a “bug-out” bag
and an action/evacuation plan. Click
here for full description
- Find a “fire-resistant
zone” near your home
- Work
with your neighbours
- Ensure
you have adequate insurance coverage
Source: FirstOnSite Restoration, https://www.firstonsite.ca/
Visit Canadian
Wildland Fire for daily fire-weather and fire-behavior maps.