After months of hard work and organizing, the South Green Lake FireSmart crew was successful in having the Bravo Neighbourhood recognized as a FireSmart Neighbourhood.
Local FireSmart Representatives Bob Bell and I wanted to see the South Green Lake community become more wildfire resilient after the Elephant Hill wildfire got within a few kilometres of the community and resulted in the residents being evacuated on July 29, 2017.
After experiencing the close call first hand, Bell and I attended a FireSmart Conference in Williams Lake where we learned what had to be done to make homes, cabins and properties in the Wildland Urban Interface more resilient during a wildfire situation.
We came home from the conference and started talking to everyone who would listen about the importance of FireSmarting their homes, cabins and properties.
Then local property owners started FireSmarting their properties, with the initial support coming from our brothers in the fire department. The FireSmarting subject spread from there as neighbours saw the firefighters making their properties more wildfire resilient, asked some questions and then joined the parade of trucks and trailers full of tree limbs and branches going to the 70 Mile House Eco-Depot to drop off their flammable woody debris in the green waste area at no cost.
Most of the people who were FireSmarting were full-time residents with a few firefighters who were part-time residents.
Bell and I felt we were being stymied because we didn’t have any contact information for most of the people who only came up for a couple of weeks’ vacation or were absentee property owners.
More information was available about FireSmarting when the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, which administers the South Green Lake Volunteer Fire Department, agreed to send out a newsletter to the property owners in the South Green Lake community.
The timing was perfect because the SGLVFD had received some free combination smoke CO alarms to give away.
If you got an alarm, please email at top_drawer@shaw.ca or phone me at 250-456-7496 to provide your contact information. It would be really helpful.
Open House
The SGLVFD is hosting an Open House at the Fire Hall (546 Green Lake South Rd.) on May 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the whole South Green Lake community is invited.
The local FireSmart crew will be unveiling the Bravo FireSmart Neighbourhood Recognition Sign. We also hope to have the FireSmart mascot Ember show up for the event, to meet the children and young-at-heart.
There will be a FireSmart booth inside the Fire Hall, where the local FireSmart crew will hand out Ember gifts on a first-come-first-serve basis. Some combined smoke and CO alarm giveaways will also be available for people on a first-come-first-serve basis if they don’t have hard-wired detectors in their homes and cabins and didn’t pick up alarms at last year’s giveaway. The FireSmart crew will ask for the property owner’s lot numbers, first and last names, phone numbers and email addresses, so please bring that along when you pick up an alarm.
The crew will also ask people who come to the FireSmart booth if they would be interested in being FireSmart Champions or joining the FireSmart committees in the Alpha and Charlie Neighbourhoods, which the local FireSmart Crew would like to get recognized this year.
There will also be a sprinkler booth where people can talk to local firefighters about the advantage of sprinklers as the last line of defence against wildfires. People can also put in orders for some sprinklers. Firefighters will be building 200 new sprinklers this year – 40 sets of three ground sprinklers and two rooftop sprinklers.
Anyone with questions about sprinklers or about designing a sprinkler system for their homes can e-mail Del at Lindawestfall@hotmail.com.
A sprinkler demonstration will be on display behind the Fire Hall during the Open House.
Hotdogs and a drink – pop, water, coffee and tea – will be available by donation.
Folks can also purchase tickets for the raffle baskets.
Best of all people will be able to meet their South Green Lake firefighters and chat with their South Green Lake friends and neighbours.
Summer hours
Starting on April 1, the 70 Mile House Eco-Depot will be operating on its summer hour schedule.
It will be open Saturday through Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Recycle changes
Washed milk jugs, cartons and oat, soy and almond containers are refundable. People can donate them to the South Green Lake Volunteer Fire Department (SGLVFD) by putting them in the SGLVFD bottle cage at the Eco-Depot, or return them to a bottle depot.
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