Revelstoke's Community FireSmart and Resiliency Committee came together one last time before wildfire season Thursday, voting to start fire fuel mitigation in multiple neighbourhood forests and looking ahead to two public awareness events this May.
The committee resolved unanimously on April 24 to approach city council about wildfire risk reduction in two urban fuel-treatment areas recommended by forestry consulting firm Blackwell Consulting, which penned Revelstoke's 123-page Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan.
Area No. 7, which contains 3.7 hectares of forest in Revelstoke's Columbia Park near Highway 1, would require "basic vegetation management" and "FireSmart cleanup where residential properties intermix with conifer forests." The eastern part of the site was lightly treated more than a decade ago by BC Wildfire Service, but Blackwell notes "surface and ladder fuels can be reduced."
Area No. 17, spanning 6.6 hectares in the forests south of Big Eddy by the Columbia River, would need similar vegetation management along its popular hiking and biking routes. The area has mixed-wood forests, "with small and young conifer thickets."
In total, Blackwell forester Quentin Schmidt has identified 23 fuel-treatment areas within the city for mitigation efforts, covering several hundred hectares of Crown-agency forested land.
"The majority of these fuel treatment units have been identified as areas for wildfire risk reduction in the immediate interface with residential infrastructure, community infrastructure, or City of Revelstoke critical infrastructure," the Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan reads. "In general, the wildfire threat of these fuel treatment units is moderate."
Committee members agreed that starting fuel mitigation work on their two selected sites would have overall community benefit and "be a great demonstration piece for FireSmart" this summer in educating the public about risk reduction in the wildland-urban interface.
Also, the committee tied up loose ends in anticipation of Tourism Revelstoke's premier Wildfire Week, hosted May 27 to June 1 in partnership with FireSmart BC, which Black Press Media will be sharing more details in mid-May.
"Honestly, this event has been such an easy sell," Taniell Hamilton, Tourism Revelstoke sustainability manager and a FireSmart committee community rep, told fellow committee members Thursday. "I think the community's appetite is there."
Hamilton shared that plans are being finalized to run a city-wide mail-out for Wildfire Week, with canvassing planned for early May, adding she looks forward to continuing to build momentum for the event in the years to come.
Even sooner, following the committee's final meeting as Revelstoke enters wildfire season, the city will host its Emergency Preparedness Town Hall from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at the Revelstoke Community and Aquatic Centre.
"The event, led by city staff, will start with an interactive session in which community members can sign up for alerts, enter a giveaway, see what a ‘grab 'n’ go’ bag is, learn about emergency support services, check out the FireSmart booth, learn how PreparedBC recommends preparing ahead of time, and speak to emergency operations experts," the city says.
At 6 p.m., city staff will present on emergency operations, communications, and preparedness, followed by a Q-and-A for members of the public to pose questions.
Watch the livestream or recording of the Emergency Preparedness Town Hall at youtube.com/@cityofrevelstoke9456.
Revelstoke's FireSmart committee intends to reconvene sometime in September.
