Thomas Blank (third from right), FireSmart Canada B.C. Liaison, presented a certificate last July to Chuck Harrison of Anarchist Mountain’s FireSmart committee in this file photo. Also pictured from left are committee members Walter Zinowki, Denis Thomson and Richard Douziech. Looking on at right are Peter Hisch, superintendant of fuels management at the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch and Darren Hutchinson, captain with Anarchist Mountain Fire Department. The certificate recognizes the progress Anarchist Mountain has made towards becoming a FireSmart Canada community. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The Anarchist Mountain community has been recognized as national leaders in implementing fire prevention strategies and plans to celebrate its achievement in obtaining FireSmart Canada recognition.
A reception is planned for 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 27 at the Discovery Centre at the Hwy. 3 rest stop at Peregrine Road.
The community is the first non-First Nation community in British Columbia to receive FireSmart status, says Mark McKenney, president of the Anarchist Mountain Community Society.
It is also among only seven communities in Canada to qualify.
Under the community-based program, local residents undertake efforts to identify and remedy problems around their homes that leave them vulnerable to wildfire.
FireSmart Canada is based on the similar and older Firewise program in the United States.
Other than bragging rights and a safer community, there are no other tangible benefits to the recognition, McKenney said. However, discussions are currently underway between FireSmart Canada and the insurance industry about possible premium reductions.
McKenney said a recent impetus for the project was a wildfire he witnessed in Summerland in 2012 that caused chaos.
“It was a great example that communities need to think about what to do in the event of a major fire,” said McKenney. “So we initiated two things. We said let’s look around and see if there’s any advice that would assist property owners in making their properties less likely to get burned out in the event of a fire. Secondly, let’s talk about evacuation and notification planning.”
Early in 2013, the community society organized a FireSmart committee, which included Darren Hutchinson, a captain and training officer with the Anarchist Mountain Fire Department, who also runs a wildfire management business.
Hutchinson connected with FireSmart Canada and working with volunteer community members he put together a program encouraging local residents to be actively involved in protection of their properties.
Other committee members included Chuck Harrison, Walter Zinowki, Denis Thomson and Richard Douziech.
“The whole premise is that if there’s a wildfire emergency in a place like Anarchist Mountain, don’t expect the fire department to be there for you,” said McKenney, adding that firefighters will be tactically employed to deal with the larger fire.
Instead, residents are encouraged to establish protection zones around their houses, keeping them free of flammable material, for example, by keeping trees at a distance and trimming lower branches.
In July last year, the committee had a FireSmart Day, bringing in speakers and showing off fire-resistant building materials and sprinkler systems, he said.
The committee spent many hours communicating with residents and doing education and outreach, McKenney said.
In the first year, residents of 22 properties took advantage of an offer to have their properties inspected so they could receive a written list of things that were good and things that could be improved to reduce wildfire risks.
The committee has again offered to do more assessments in 2014, McKenney said.
“We’re finding that people that are in relatively new builds on the mountain are particularly interested in this kind of stuff because many of them have never lived in a fire prone area before,” he said. “In a place like Anarchist Mountain, it’s not about if fire will happen – it will happen – it’s just inevitable that there will be some fire from time to time.”
The community received notification that it qualified for FireSmart back in November, but the event was set for April so that it wouldn’t be held during the winter, McKenney said.
MLA Linda Larson and Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen board chair Mark Pendergraft are expected to attend, as are Anarchist Mountain fire chiefs and firefighters past and present and community residents.
“It’s a little bit of a celebration of being able to say that we’ve achieved this,” said McKenney.
Information about the FireSmart Canada program and resource materials can be found at www.firesmart.ca
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
