HINTON – Fire professionals weighed in on the importance of wildfire preparedness and highlighted the successes of Logan Lake, B.C. during a virtual event on Wednesday (April 30).
The event was hosted by the Town of Hinton, the Resilience Institute and the Canadian Red Cross. The panel included Logan Lake fire chief Doug Wilson, retired Jasper fire chief Greg Van Tighem and Hinton fire chief Jim Smith.
“A wildfire resilient community is one that is engaged at all levels, starting first with the homeowners or the property owners, the individuals just using and utilizing FireSmart mitigation principles on their properties and on their structures,” Van Tighem said.
Wildfire readiness also requires a highly trained fire department that is well-resourced, support from the municipality and the provincial government’s assistance through Alberta Emergency Management and other agencies.
“When you get all those ducks in a row, I think that leads to a more resilient community,” Van Tighem said.
A screening of The Test, an hour-long documentary about wildfire resilience in Logan Lake was scheduled but not able to take place due to technical difficulties, but the 2024 film can be viewed for free online.
The documentary details Logan Lake’s 18 years of wildfire preparation, becoming the country’s first FireSmart community in 2013, and how this hard work helped save the community during the 2021 Tremont wildfire.
“It begins with education, and you just got to keep pushing on it,” Wilson said. “You keep going after the people, keep driving it into them.”
Wilson noted it was important to “think outside the box” when it comes to FireSmart, such as using goats to eat vegetation in hilly areas that were windy and not conducive to burning, although they did get some feedback because the dogs were barking at the goats.
“You’ve got to look at the big picture and see what works for your community. It’s never finished,” he said. “You’ve got to keep going after it, keep working at it. You may think you’re completed around the community, but it starts again as the regrowth continues.”
Van Tighem highlighted the effectiveness of FireSmart by pointing out that Lake Edith, which was the first neighbourhood in Canada to receive official FireSmart Canada community recognition, only lost three of its 51 structures in the Jasper wildfire last summer.
While attributing the outcome partly to fuel reduction work, he praised the cottage owners for being engaged.
“The majority of those folks there have really cleaned up their properties, and they really are following the FireSmart Canada principles,” he said. “That contributed to them coming out of this event with very little damage.”
Smith explained how there were many resources that people could access to learn more about FireSmart, including fire departments, local municipalities, provincial resources and FireSmart co-ordinators. FireSmart also has resources online and a Begins at Home Guide.
“All those individuals will help get you the information that you need to move your community forward and to be more resilient, but it definitely starts with the individual and the individual homeowner,” he said.
Wilson agreed that FireSmart started with homeowners, noting most people’s biggest investment was their house, and added that businesses also play a key role, such as how nurseries supply fire-resistant plants.
Van Tighem said residents should also become acquainted with emergency management plans and their responsibilities, noting this helped contribute to the safe evacuation of Jasper last summer.
“Obviously, people are going to be upset about sitting in their car for six or eight hours and ending up in a place they didn’t really want to be, but the reality is everybody got out safely,” he said.
The Municipality of Jasper will be hosting an open house for Emergency Preparedness Week at the Emergency Services Building on Wednesday (May 7) from 3 to 7 p.m. Community-Wide FireSmart Day will take place the following Saturday (May 10).
In addition, the Town of Hinton will conduct an emergency preparedness drill on Saturday (May 3).
