Fire Interface
$192,500 FROM COMMUNITY TRUST WILL MAKE KASLO SAFER PDF Print E-mail
Written by Province of BC   
Friday, 12 December 2008 19:41

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release                                                 Ministry of Forests and Range

2008FOR0165-001857                                          Ministry of Community Development

Dec. 9, 2008

$192,500 FROM COMMUNITY TRUST WILL MAKE KASLO SAFER

VICTORIA – Funding from the Community Development Trust’s Job Opportunities Program will support up to nine jobs for unemployed forest workers focused on forest fire prevention activities in the Kaslo area, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell and Community Development Minister Blair Lekstrom announced today.

            “The Community Development Trust is one of our key tools to assist forest families and communities during these difficult times,” said Lekstrom. “We are pleased to be able to assist workers, while at the same time improving fire safety around the community of Kaslo.”

            The Village of Kaslo developed a community wildfire protection plan in 2006-2007. The new funding of $192,500 will support forest fuel management activities described in the plan. This fall and winter, workers will reduce the amount of wood debris on the forest floor, cutting down small trees and saplings and pruning large branches off trees. The work will also include the construction of access trails that can be used for hiking and recreation.

            “The Community Development Trust is using skilled forest workers to make Kaslo safer,” said Bell. “By targeting and removing forest debris that is quick to ignite and spread flames, the fuel management work will significantly decrease the possibility of wildfires around Kaslo.”

            The project is being managed by three local forest sector businesses, Progressive Forest Management Ltd., Appropriate Forestry Services and WREN Consulting. The companies were able to access matching funding from the Union of BC Municipalities thanks to an enabling resolution passed by the Village of Kaslo. This resulted in a total project budget of $385,000.

            “The Community Development Trust’s program will lead to the removal and reduction of fire hazards around Kaslo,” said Kaslo Mayor Greg Lay. “As a result of the project there will be people working in the woods this winter and a reduced risk of forest fires around the community in the future.”

            The objectives of the $26.25-million Job Opportunities Program are directed at reducing the impact of current layoffs on workers employed in the forest industry, retaining skilled forest workers for the anticipated future upturn, and preserving the characteristics of the labour force in forest dependent communities.

            A forest-dependent community or organization and forest licensees or forest contractors working in co-operation with a forest-dependent community are eligible to submit a project proposal to the Job Opportunities Program. So far, 103 submissions have been received and 51 projects totaling over $8 million from across the province have been approved.

            The Job Opportunities Program is one component of the Community Development Trust, which was announced in May. B.C.’s share of the federal trust is $129 million over three years, with funds also directed to programs for tuition assistance and transition assistance for older workers.

            For more information about the Community Development Trust and Job Opportunities Program, go to: http://www.cd.gov.bc.ca/cdt/

Media contact:
Jennifer McLarty
Public Affairs Officer
Ministry of Forests and Range
250 387-4592

Leanne Ritchie
Public Affairs Officer
Ministry of Community Development
250 356-0979

Greg Lay
Mayor of Kaslo
250 353-7184

Forest Workers hired to work on the Kaslo Wildfire Interface Program and contributing

to the success of the Project:

 

1. Roger Leroux

2. Josh Laboucane

3. Alvin Johnson

4. Merv Funk

5. Greg McRae

6. Phil Simmons

7. Cam Neil

8. Dave Wiebe

9. Aeron James

10. Gordon Bens

11. Rob Thibault

12. Daniel Duchesne

 

 

 
Last Updated ( Friday, 12 December 2008 19:51 )
 
Kaslo Wildfire Interface Project – October, 2008 PDF Print E-mail
Written by John Addison   
Friday, 10 October 2008 05:19

Hearing chainsaws and brushsaws lately? That’s the sound that the Kaslo Interface project is underway. A crew of five workers is now working to reduce the fuel buildup in the public and Crown lands in Kaslo’s forest interface.

In the Blackwell report, Community Wildfire Protection Planning, which was commissioned by the RDCK in 2006, the fire danger in the Village of Kaslo forest interface was rated as high to extreme. With global climate change and the pine beetle pandemic affecting much of BC, fire fighting equipment and personnel could potentially be stretched very thinly during spells of hot and dry weather. Should we be threatened by wildfire here in Kaslo, we may be left to fend for ourselves. This is why it is so important to act locally to prevent forest fires and to take measures that will help prepare us to fight a wildfire close to our homes.

Reducing fuel loading (dead trees and branches) involves a lot of chain and brushsaw work within the fuel treatment areas. As part of the project, trails are being built to provide access for fire fighting equipment and personnel. These trails will contribute to our inventory of recreational trails.

At a time when employment in the forest sector is scarce, the Kaslo Fire Interface project is creating good paying jobs for former forest/mill workers. The $192,500 project is entirely funded by the Federal Community Development Trust – Job Opportunities Program until March 2008. Matching funding which would extend that deadline is available through the Union of BC Municipalities. The project’s future now depends on the continued involvement of all levels of government and a commitment from the Village of Kaslo to support Fire Smart principles.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 01 November 2008 21:46 )
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KASLO COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN PDF Print E-mail
Written by John Addison   
Friday, 26 September 2008 18:36

Forest wildfires which have the potential to threaten or destroy homes in a municipality are called INTERFACE wildfires or URBAN/RURAL INTERFACE FIRE INCIDENTS. A Community Wildfire Protection Plan is a document which, if implemented, will reduce the risk of wildfire to homeowners, and will also reduce the risk to firefighters who will be called in to fight an interface fire. As well, having a wildfire protection plan in place increases the likelihood that firefighters can succeed in saving your home and property.

The Kelowna, Cranbrook and Barrier area forest fires of 2003 clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of communities located next to forested areas. These communities suffered the loss of many homes within their municipal boundaries, largely as a result of ember showers and fire brands blowing on to private property as the wildfire front advanced. 
Last Updated ( Friday, 10 October 2008 05:25 )
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Addressing the Interface Fire Hazard PDF Print E-mail
Written by John Addison   
Wednesday, 10 September 2008 05:04

The following article has been submitted for further explanation and for inclusion into Kaslo’s Fire Interface Management Plan and is an ‘edited’ excerpt from AN INTERFACE FIRE HAZARD PLANNING MODEL: A CASE STUDY OF THE DISTRICT OF LANGFORD (link: http://www.cityoflangford.ca/documents/brochures/FireInterface_Doc.pdf )

Preventative Measures

Wildfire, at the interface of developed and forested lands, presents a significant hazard in many communities. Nothing in recent years has illustrated this more clearly than the devastating forest fires in British Columbia and California in 2003. Local government has a key role to play in preparing residents and organizations for the threat of interface fires. Kaslo's Fire Interface Management Plan provides a menu of tools available to local governments for addressing the hazard of an interface fire.

 
Last Updated ( Friday, 10 October 2008 05:26 )
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