Changing behaviour key to preventing destruction of homes by wildfire: Okanagan study

A study on the wildfires in the Okanagan in 2023 emphasizes ember resilience as a shared responsibility between homeowners and local governments.  The Post-Fire Case Study of the 2023 Grouse Complex fires, including McDougall Creek, Clarke Creek and Walroy Lake, looked into what we can learn from the fires and how they spread to people’s homes. The study’s report has a list of recommendations similar to FireSmart like building decks from fire resistant materials, keeping the area within 1.5 metres of a home clear of flammable materials, and reducing flammable plants near houses. The report said homeowners and residents share responsibility with local governments to follow through with fire mitigation recommendations. Kelowna Fire Department’s assistant chief of mitigation and prevention Dennis Craig said FireSmart bylaws can only do so much. “All those things fall under both the resident and the local authority,” he said. “Enforcement is not really the answer. Change in behaviour is the answer and through education. That's really what we've been focusing on is trying to get that change in behaviour and thought process out to our community to make those changes.” A lot of the recommendations in the report are things that FireSmart already recommends, but the report stresses the impact of flying embers. The study found that most homes caught fire because of flying embers that can travel more than 2.5 kilometres. The embers land on something combustible near the house and then the fire transfers to the building. “There's a perception of this big wall of fire that we've seen in 2023. And that's what's causing structure loss and burning homes down,” he said. “Your property may never even be impinged by that big wall of fire, but you could still lose your home based on just the embers. And you see it in the photos. You'll see perfectly green trees, untouched bushes all around and then a burnt house in the centre.” READ MORE: Grinch cuts, steals blue spruce off family property in Kamloops https://infotel.ca/newsitem/grinch-cuts-steals-blue-spruce-off-family-property-in-kamloops/it107362 The report recommends people move flammable things like firewood, vehicles and recreational equipment 10 metres away from any structure, and plant less flammable deciduous trees 10 to 30 metres from a structure.  Craig said there are discussions about adding bylaws and policies to mitigate wildfire damage, and many are already in place. “We already have a wildfire development permit area in Kelowna. We've had it in place for many years and our developers are following that,” he said. “What we're seeing is five, ten years later after somebody's moved in and established themselves, they're making poor landscaping choices many years afterwards... some of these rules aren't going to really help us there with continuing on with the good practices.” The study said private industry also has a role in fire mitigation when it comes to things like producing new fire resistant materials. Craig said the fire department works with the Okanagan Xeriscape Association https://okanaganxeriscape.org/ to help inform people about what kinds of plants are less combustible. “If we continue to have nurseries selling species of trees and bushes that don't belong in our ecosystem, no amount of regulation at the homeowner level is going to help with that,” he said. Craig said everyone has a role to play when it comes to FireSmart prevention and mitigation, but it starts with residents and homeowners. “It's a home out approach,” he said. “We all own a piece of it, right from the residents all the way up through the now to the federal government's levels, everything in between, as well as our private industry.” The Regional District of Central Okanagan said no one was available for an interview, but echoed Craig's sentiment in an emailed statement.  “We recognize the effectiveness of FireSmart principles in mitigating wildfire risks, as highlighted in the recent Grouse Complex Wildland-Urban Interface Fires report. Reducing wildfire risks requires collective effort. FireSmart principles remain our most important tool for risk reduction, and we will continue to promote our FireSmart rebates and emergency preparedness programs to residents,” the district said in an email. Click here for information about the regional district's FireSmart rebate program. https://www.rdco.com/en/living-here/firesmart-program.aspx To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. Find our Journalism Ethics policy here. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/code-of-ethics/it106782 We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .