FireSmart Begins at Home
Bragg Creek and Area property owners have been working hard to make their homes more resistant to wildfire. All those pruned branches and collected deadwood can be brought to the waste transfer site or to the Chipper Day planned for the Fall (details to follow).
While some FireSmarters are well into their home projects, for some homeowners, one of the challenges of FireSmarting is knowing how to get started.
Get Informed
Perusing FireSmart Canada’s website is a great place to begin: firesmartcanada. ca/homeowners. There, you will find information about wildfire risks and steps you can take to make your home more resilient in case of wildfire. You might also consider downloading the FireSmart Begins at Home app available for both Apple and Android devices. Rocky View Fire Services offers FREE FireSmart assessments. During a home visit, firefighters can give personalized, practical advice on how to strengthen your wildfire resistance. You can sign up online at: www.rockyview.ca/CountyServices/FireEmergency/FireSmart.aspx
Work from the Home Out
We like to say, “FireSmart begins at home”. Think of your home as the centre of a series of concentric circles. Start FireSmarting at your house and work outwards. For example, in the 1.5 metres closest to your home, the Non-combustible Zone, remove any materials that windblown embers could ignite. Clean away pine needles and other debris from the roof, gutters, and any other crevices where they collect. Remove dry grasses or more resinous, flammable plants from gardens.
Then, move onto the next 10 metre circle where you will find more opportunities to protect your home. Move woodpiles away. Clear up combustible debris. Keep the lawn mowed and watered. Choose plants that are more resistant to fire, avoiding plants like cedars and pines.
Continue working outward from your home. In the 10 metre to 30 metre zone, you can thin trees (to help prevent fires that “skip” from treetop to treetop in closely spaced trees). Skirt trees in this zone, removing the lower branches (up to 2 metres from the ground) to help prevent ground fires from climbing trees.
Work by Season
There is a FireSmart activity for every season. For example, in Winter, prune trees while they are dormant. In Spring, clear pine needles from gutters, remove deadfall, and move any firewood piles away from structures. In Summer, keep the lawn mowed and watered. Check out the activity calendar on our Facebook page to keep FireSmarting year-round.
Start Small and Work Up
There is no need to move directly to projects that require a big investment. Starting with tree pruning and debris clean up is a great place to begin. Bigger projects might include replacing a wood shake roof with an asphalt one, screening the underside of decks, or looking into roof sprinklers.
More Resources
You can find information about these FireSmart strategies on firesmartcanada.ca, on the Greater Bragg Creek FireSmart Committee’s Facebook page, or at the Chipper Day which we hope to host this Autumn. Keep up the great work, everyone!
