Contributed to the Times Chronicle
Mount Baldy village east of Oliver is getting “FireSmarter.”
During the evacuation of residents in the Nk’Mip fire of 2021, the professional firefighters who arrived to protect the village commented that there was very little evidence of reduction of fuel loads and fire danger in the community.
The formation of a FireSmart board and the subsequent Mt. Baldy Wildfire Protection Strategy was developed.
On May 21-22 the community held an inaugural FireSmart event with 64 property owners attending.
Emergency Management Coordinator Carlene Pires from Regional District of Kootenay Boundary presented an introduction to FireSmart, including the basic guidelines of how to create a FireSmart community and how the regional district will be able to help.
Doug MacLeod, a supervisor on the Nk’Mip fire and a certified FireSmart assessor reminded the residents how close the community came to losing everything as the flames came within 2.7 km of the village. He outlined steps that could be taken to reduce community vulnerability and led a walkabout with residents identifying some of the work that needs to be done to improve the likelihood of survival.
Regional district staff and Area E director Vicki Gee were very supportive with Gee congratulating the community for its enthusiastic participation, and pledged ongoing support.
Although there was still a lot of snow on the ground, much work took place including some tree removal and pruning, in addition to cleaning up flammables next to cabins.
The community thanked all the people who helped get this project started and looks forward to continued progress in strengthening its fire resiliency over the next few years.
Mount Baldy village consists of 156 properties with 108 dwellings, with approximately 40 full-time residents.
