FireSmart™ is a program that helps residents increase neighbourhood resilience to wildfire and minimize its negative impacts.

To connect with a Local FireSmart Representative in your area, please email FireSmart@rdek.bc.ca

Two interesting reads related to the FireSmart Program:

Post-Fire Case Study for the 2023 Grouse Complex (Okanagan) - From FireSmart BC

New research shows FireSmart principles worked to save homes during 2023 West Kelowna wildfire - from Castanet.net

Apply Now for the 2025 Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Grant

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (WCPD) encourages communities across Canada to come together and work toward increasing fire resiliency and education in their area. Communities can take action by reducing potential wildfire fuel sources—and have the opportunity to be awarded $500 to fund their WCPD initiative. In 2025, Wildfire Community Preparedness Day falls on Saturday, May 3.

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is a great opportunity for communities to take action and promote FireSmart education. Efforts might include purchasing disposal bins, renting wood chippers for dead and dying trees, hiring service providers to remove fire hazards, or performing other actions that help reduce wildfire risk.

Applications close on January 31, 2025.

Submit your application HERE.

FireSmart is a valuable source when preparing for wildfire season. From simple tips for homeowners looking to protect their property to community programs led by local experts, everything you need to protect and prepare your home, neighbourhood, or municipality during wildfire season can be addressed by FireSmart principles.

The East Kootenay's focus on the FireSmart program continues to go strong. We follow the principles of FireSmart BC and FireSmart Canada, to encourage residents to adopt FireSmart practices and reduce the potential for wildfire impacts on their properties.

You can do your own Home Ignition Zone Assessment by clicking HERE.

FireSmart homes and neighbourhoods allow firefighters to concentrate on fighting the wildfire, which ultimately saves more homes and lives. Neighbourhoods in which residents take steps to reduce their vulnerability have a greater chance of surviving a wildfire without the intervention of the fire department.

Learn more about the Neighbourhood Recognition Program HERE.

FireSmart Canada Neighbourhood Feature - Rushmere:

We are actively seeking Neighbourhood Champions. What's a Neighbourhood Champion, you ask? Well, every good team needs a leader, and that is what a Neighbourhood Champion is: the person who rallies the neighbourhood, who helps organize and communicate about FireSmart activities, and who helps inspire their neighbourhood to join in on the action and reduce wildfire hazards.

The great thing is, a FireSmart Neighbourhood program doesn't have to be for a whole community. It can be for a defined neighbourhood within a community.

Ben Mitchell-Banks is a FireSmart Champion for CastleRock Estates in Invermere. Here, he explains the perimeter treatment that was conducted surrounding their neighbourhood.

To learn more about how to become a community champion, please email FireSmart@rdek.bc.ca.

RESOURCES TO GET YOU STARTED:

FireSmarting your property can be easy. And, every action you take to remove a potential hazard, increases your property's resilience to wildfire. The best part is, simple and easy steps can make a drastic difference. Here are some resources from FireSmart BC to help get you started:

• Homeowner's Guide to FireSmarting Your Property
• FireSmart BC Landscaping Guide
• Wildfire Preparedness Guide
• FireSmart Begins at Home Assessment
• FSC_Wildfire Evac Checklist

• BC Farm/Ranch Wildfire Plan Guide (Climate Action Initiative/Investment Agriculture Foundation BC)
• The Farm/Ranch Wildfire Plan Guide/Workbook (FireSmart BC)

The Rocky Mountain District’s Wildfire Risk Reduction targets Crown Land adjacent to communities and critical

infrastructure. The overall intent of the wildfire risk reduction effort is to lower fire intensities and the rate of spread

to allow for a successful suppression; not eliminate the probability and cause of ignition. By doing so, this helps to

enhance community resiliency, emergency response, and public safety. Below is a list of current projects.

The Emergency Wildfire Preparedness Checklist is a vital resource that informs residents of some key steps they can take to prepare their property during a wildfire emergency.

Click HERE for the checklist.