FireSmart reaches out to garden pros to help protect South Okanagan homes
It may be the middle of winter but FireSmart is already working to mitigate the damage caused by the 2022 wildfire season in B.C.
An online presentation will invite the South Okanagan's landscapers, along with nursery and garden centre employees to learn more about the types of vegetation that create wildfire risk. It is being hosted by the City of Penticton and Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
“Landscaping is like a piece of the puzzle when it comes to fire smarting the home,” FireSmart coordinator Brittany Seibert said. “The closest 10 metres around the home is really the most detrimental.”
One of the most common preventable risks around the South Okanagan are cedar hedges that line many people’s homes. While it’s easy to appreciate the privacy offered by the hedges, Seibert said they add significant risk because they ignite easily, they radiate extreme heat if they do light up, and oftentimes the hedges are planted right up to the exterior of a home.
“It can be a direct line to the home,” she said. “It’s an easy path for the fire, once it catches any part of the hedge it can reach the building.”
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When active wildfires can be seen from afar up in the hills, homeowners often feel a false sense of security.
“A lot of times it’s not the fire directly reaching the home, it’s embers landing in their yard that were blown in the wind," Seibert said.
If one ember leads to one home catching ablaze, that could result in the loss of numerous other homes in the neighbourhood, known as urban conflagration. That's another reason why it’s important for residents to be conscientious of the 10 metre radius around their home.
She said mulched up bark, which is often used beneficially in garden beds, is unfortunately a combustable hazard.
“We’re tying to encourage people to utilize non-combustibles like rock and gravel for the garden beds,” she said. “Or use bark mulch in garden beds that are set farther away from home, if possible.”
While there haven’t been any official surveys conducted, Seibert believes a majority of homes within Penticton have hazardous materials within 10 m of the building.
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FireSmart initiatives engage the broader community on many other occasions, but she said the upcoming presentation will cater towards those who sell and service plants, as they have influence over local gardeners.
Outside of the summer months, it can be easy for the public to forget how susceptible their communities are to the risk of wildfire, Seibert said. But when gardeners go out in the spring to buy new plants for the season, she hopes homeowners will give more consideration towards safer summer planning.
FireSmart encourages homeowners in the South Okanagan to plant safer species of trees like alder, birch, cottonwood, poplar and maples, and discourages more combustable trees like cedars and junipers.
“It’s about how we can do better to live with wildfires,” Seibert said. “They’re an important part of the health of our ecosystem, but we need communities to be resilient so that at the end of the day we still have homes to go home to.”
The two-hour presentation takes place over Zoom on Feb. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Anybody interested in attending can register online here.
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