After Chase was named one of the top 10 communities in Canada for burn probability, council is looking at mitigation efforts to lessen its wildfire risk.
At the Feb.11 council meeting, FireSmart coordinator Michael Henderson provided a report with actions that can be taken now and in future, depending on cost and complexity.
At the top of his list was increasing the Matching Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) Rebate for FireSmart certified properties to $500 from the current $250 which is "really not much of an incentive." Additionally, he suggested higher density strata complexes getting a shared rebate of $1,000 and $1,500 for lower density.
"I think this is important because if you look at the map, Chase, a lot of it's private land. Which means there's not much of a way for local government to help out besides the rebate," Henderson pointed out. "And we want to encourage homeowners, as much as we can, to manager fuel on their property."
Free FireSmart assessments can be booked online at chasebc.ca/firesmart.
Second on his list of goals is creating a Wildfire Development Permit Area (WDPA) and applicable bylaws that would require all new development to be FireSmart certified "from the get go."
"This is very commonly being adopted by municipalities implementing FireSmart," Henderson said. "It's a lot cheaper than having to actually renovate post-construction or development. It鈥檚 better to just get FireSmart out of the way right away. And that is essentially what a WDPA does.鈥�
He added that other communities incorporate a FireSmart component into applicable bylaws in order to enforce that, but Chase doesn鈥檛 have a full-time bylaw officer, Henderson said their hours should be increased to accommodate this.
The report also included fuel mitigation measures that can be taken within village boundaries, with two locations of particular concern.
鈥淥ne place would be anywhere around the railway. It鈥檚 a likely source of ignition for fires,鈥� Henderson said of conducting mitigation there, but added it鈥檚 also a challenge because any work in the 15 metre right-of-way around the track would have to be done in coordination with CPKC.
The second area of note is the forested slope east of Hillside Avenue. Though some work has already been done there, Henderson said more is needed.
鈥淚t is a priority because it approaches very closely to residential neighbourhoods, in addition to public infrastructure such as the museum,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it has a lot ground fuel, a lot of dry, dead fuels, so if embers were to land on that slope, it would be a cause for concern.鈥�
Henderson also said that despite it having a high upfront cost, the fire department鈥檚 Structure Protection Unit should be upgraded, which he added was 鈥渕ore so out of necessity than my recommendation.鈥� Having a Type II trailer is considered a necessity for high risk wildfire areas.
Council received the report for information.
