Apex Community FireSmart™ Program
Together, we are prepared.
The Apex Mountain Resort community is located in a wildfire prone area and with some simple steps, you can protect your home from wildfire.
Wildfires are a risk that all British Columbians should be aware of and prepared for. Our FireSmart programs are here to help you get started and make steps towards protecting your home and our community.
Wildfires are, and will continue to be a natural and necessary ecological disturbance in our forests. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to manage our individual properties to reduce the wildfire risk to our homes and our community.
FireSmart Neighbourhood Recognition Program
Work with your neighbours, reduce your risk and get national recognition. Volunteer to be your neighbourhood champion. Contact firesmart@apexfirerescue.ca
FireSmart Home Partners Program
Receive a *free* professional wildfire mitigation assessment and report for your Apex property. Our FireSmart professionals will prepare a report for you with tips for how to make your property more likely to survive a wildfire. Book your free assessment today!
FREE 65+ FireSmart Yard Clean-Up and Chipping Program
Property owners age 65 years and up. Sign up for a *free* FireSmart Home Partners Program wildfire mitigation assessment here. The AFBS crew will undertake assessments, mitigate your yard, and chip and haul vegetation.
By Donation FireSmart Curbside Chipping Program
Property owners under 65 years of age. Sign up for a *free* FireSmart Home Partners Program assessment here. Do the work that is recommended in the report. Follow the directions for piling your vegetation curbside and the AFBS crew will chip and haul your vegetation by donation.
RDOS Rebate Program
The FireSmart rebate provides up to $1000 to homeowners living within the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) who conduct FireSmart work on their property. This money may reimburse the cost of materials as well as time spent conducting hazard mitigation work on your property. Click here to learn more and apply. Please note that the RDOS FireSmart rebate program may be subject to change and the number of rebates available is limited.
How Do You Make Your Home FireSmart?
By creating a FireSmart property, you will dramatically increase the resistance of your home and property to damage caused by wildfire. It’s surprisingly easy to get started! By taking the recommended actions within each section will not only help reduce the risk of damage to your property, but also give firefighters a better chance of defending your community. It is best to always start in the Immediate Zone and move outwards away from your structures. Remember, a little effort now can go a long way in protecting you, your loved ones, and your home during a wildfire.
The Home/The Immediate Zone: 0 - 1.5 Metres
The Immediate Zone is a non-combustible area that starts at the home and extends to a 1.5-meter perimeter around it and its attached structures, like decks. Because this space is the most vulnerable, it is essential to take the following proactive steps to reduce the potential for wind-blown embers to ignite your house:
- Choose non-combustible building materials when constructing or renovating.
- Clear vegetation and combustible material down to mineral soil and cover with non-combustible materials like gravel, brick or concrete.
- Avoid planting woody shrubs or trees. If any are present, prune or maintain them regularly.
The Intermediate Zone: 1.5 - 10 Metres
The Intermediate Zone extends from 1.5 to 10 metres from the home. Elements in this section can be managed so that they don’t transmit fire to your house. Take the following actions within the Intermediate Zone to reduce the vulnerability of your property:
- Plant fire-resistant vegetation and select non-combustible landscaping materials.
- Avoid incorporating any woody debris, including mulch.
- Remove combustible items like firewood piles, construction materials, patio furniture, tools, and decorative pieces.
- Move trailers, recreational vehicles, storage sheds, and other combustible structures into the Extended Zone. If that is not possible, store firewood inside your mitigated garage, shed or other ember-resistant structures.
- Create a non-combustible ground cover, like a gravel pad, underneath and 1.5 metres around trailers, recreational vehicles, and sheds.
The Extended Zone: 10 - 30 Metres
The Extended Zone occurs between 10 to 30 metres from the home. In this area, the goal is to reduce the fire’s intensity and rate of spread. Here are some important steps you can take if your property extends into this zone:
- Selectively remove evergreen trees to create at least 3 metres of horizontal space between the single or grouped tree crowns.
- Remove all branches to a height of 2 metres from the ground.
- Regularly clean up accumulations of fallen branches, dry grass, and needles to eliminate potential surface fuels.
- Continue to apply these principles if your property extends beyond 30 metres.
- Work with your neighbours in overlapping zones and seek guidance from a forest professional if affected by other conditions, like steep slopes.
FAQ
Browse through our FAQ to find answers to commonly raised questions. If you’re new to the FireSmart program, we encourage you to read through everything and reach out to our local FireSmart representative with any other questions.
What factors contribute to the vulnerability of my yard?
Storing items such as firewood piles, construction materials, tools and decorative pieces against or near a house. Combustible landscaping mulch can increase the chance of direct flame spreading to the home. Evergreen trees (with cones and needles) are highly flammable.
How do I get started making my neighbourhood FireSmart?
Check out the FireSmart Neighbourhood Recognition Program here to learn how to talk to your neighbours about FireSmart, and explore what it means to become recognized.
What are the benefits of being a FireSmart neighbourhood?
Creates defensible space that prevents fires from advancing and endangering homes and lives. Reduces the probability that wind-driven embers falling far ahead of a wildfire will ignite a fire around or on your home. Improves property value while reducing the risk of loss. Firefighters can concentrate their efforts on fighting wildfires rather than devoting often limited resources to protecting homes. Offers peace of mind, knowing that your home is prepared to survive a wildfire in the event one should occur.
What is the home ignition zone and why is it so important?
Your ignition zone – including the condition of the house and it’s immediate surroundings within 30 to 100 metres and other structures such as garages, decks, porches, or fences that come in contact with the house – is what determines your home’s susceptibility to ignition during a wildfire.
Why do we focus on embers so much?
Embers are known to be the driving force in spreading wildfire, often igniting smaller blazes beyond the fire front.
Embers can ignite materials on or near your home, causing severe damage or even worse, total home loss.
If a fire starts, won't the AFBS put the fire out?
We are the first responders and will always make our best efforts to deal with fires of any kind but fires in brush, grass or forests pose a special challenge. They can spread quickly and we may not get the call until the fire is threatening homes. Protecting your home from wildfire not only protects your home but firefighters as well.
Have questions?
Reach out to our local representative – They here to advise you on everything FireSmart! They can help you with any questions and concerns.
Apex Local FireSmart representative – Molly Raine firesmart@apexfirerescue.ca
REPORT A WILDFIRE: To report a wildfire or suspicious behaviour that may start a wildfire, call BC Wildfire Service *5555
FireSmart, Intelli-feu and other associated Marks are trademarks of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).