
A before and after look some of the wildfire mitigation work that has occurred in Kamloops
It has been eight years since the city of Kamloops last updated its wildfire plan and now it is looking for your help to modernize it.
The Community Wildfire Protection Plan was last updated in 2016 with work on that plan having first started in 1986. Now it is developing a Wildfire Resiliency Plan.
Kamloops is in an active fire environment and in recent years, the community has been surrounded by large, recorded-breaking fires. The city has also been a central hub for emergency response. As such, wildfire resiliency, prevention, and mitigation are a central focus of the community as fire seasons continue to get more and more severe.
The resiliency plan which will outline the following goals:
- increase the community’s capacity and understanding of wildfire threat and risk
- foster greater interagency collaboration across administrative boundaries
- be a lead role model in FireSmart and wildfire resiliency in the province
- be more responsive to the needs of different types of communities throughout British Columbia
- develop achievable and accountable action items for reducing wildfire threat and risk.
FireSmart Liaison for City of Kamloops Kathleen Cahoon says an updated plan aims to pinpoint high risk areas and provide insight ito the seven FireSmart disciplines vital for effective wildfire mitigation.
“The plan itself outlines specific goals, including increasing community awareness of wildfire risks, fostering collaboration among agencies, and positioning Kamloops as a leader in the fire smart practices across British Columbia. It also emphasizes the need for actionable, accountable steps to reduce wildfire threats, ensuring community needs are met.”
“Filling out this survey will give myself and my coworkers a better understanding of the knowledge that the residents of the city of Kamloops have in terms of wildfire mitigation, their concerns, activities that they already do as homeowners, or potential barriers that they might face that won’t allow them to FireSmart their homes.”
“Collaboration is a huge piece, and just having the public do the survey will help me be able to plan for the future and provide initiatives that will be directly beneficial for homeowners, whether that’s getting assessments done on their homes, or looking into rebate programs for those who do FireSmart their home.”
You can fill out the survey here.