SIVFD NEWS - savary island committee

2009 SUMMER EDITION
SIVFD NEWS
SAVARY ISLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
ISSUE 2 PO BOX 63, LUND, BC V0N 2G0 SUMMER 2009
Savary Island
Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Community Wildfire Protection Plan
THE REPORT ON THE ASSESSMENT OF SAVARY ISLAND’S FIRE RISK
was delivered to the SIVFD this spring. Within the fire department, we feel strongly
that this report can be used as a community tool to help save lives, property, and
forests by educating islanders and visitors about the risk of wildfires and providing
simple solutions to help prevent them. Every Savaryite can help.
Some Background.
The SIVFD’s application for the CWPP grant from the Ministry of Forests was started
in April 2007. The Foresters came to Savary in May 2008 to map and assess the
entire island. Their report was recently signed off by the Powell River Regional
District (PRRD) this spring. Savary Island is the only area in the PRRD to get a CWPP.
Until now there has not been a Savary-specific report available, and Savary fell
under the broader scope of the Sunshine Coast, and Strait of Georgia guidelines.
The report addresses five key issues: Structure Protection (dwellings), Emergency
Response (evacuation plans and fire suppression), Training & Equipment (for
firefighters), Vegetation Management (reduction of highly combustible fuels like low branches, wind debris, certain
vegetation), and Wildfire Rehabilitation Planning (after a fire).
The full report is available for free: online as a downloadable PDF; or printed copies (80 pages) available for signing out;
and for viewing at our two seminars this summer on Fire Safety Public Education. (See end of this newsletter for details.)
Vegetation Management
Everyone on Savary can take part by cleaning up
their property of wood debris.
We choose to live in a forest.
The attractions of Savary are also its potential hazards.
Living amongst the trees is a choice we’ve all made for
the obvious beauty and benefits. But at the same time
we must understand our responsibility and the risks of
living here. Look at the recent fires in California, Australia,
BC and Alberta. The communities that were involved in
wildfires are similar to Savary in that the forest meets
the community.
The roads and trails around Savary offer exercise and
exploration but a spark or cigarette butt could easily
ignite the dry debris along the roads and paths. Our
beaches attract people from all over the world but campfires
are an extreme fire risk in the dry summer months
Areas With Most Hazardous Fuel Types
FUEL TYPES: Increasing Fire Behaviour

SIVFD NEWS
2009 SUMMER EDITION
ISSUE 2 PAGE 2 SUMMER 2009
Before
After
An example of a high-risk fuel cleanup in Whistler.
and could threaten the entire island. Many popular camping
spots on Savary beaches are adjacent to highly flammable
fuels such as driftwood, dry grass, scotch broom,
dead trees, and fallen branches.
What can we do?
SAVARY ISLAND
CWPP
“
100%
of fires with
known causes
were the
result of human
ignition.”
You can start with spending a day,
or a weekend cleaning up your
property of anything that looks
like kindling. Think about the path
a fire would take if it were started
by a spark or ember. Remove fallen
branches, low branches (as
high as you can reach), dried long
grass, dead trees, scotch broom (unless it’s stabilizing a
slope), and dry or dead plants. As well as reducing the
risk of fire you will be surprised at how good everything
looks afterwards. Allowing more light onto the forest
floor will encourage green plants to thrive, which then
act as a fire break by making fire more difficult to spread.
The SIVFD will be requesting that the Ministry of
Transportation (MoT) clean up the roadsides so that wood
waste accumulations do not contribute to the fire risk
across Savary.
If you are having a campfire (when it is allowed) make
sure you keep it under 2 feet in diameter, have water or
a shovel close by, keep it 10 ft from grass and combustibles,
and never leave it unattended.
Let’s all do our part to reduce the risk of wildfire. ■
Structure Protection
Your cabin’s vulnerability to fire.
Sparks, embers, and firebrands.
We’ve all seen small sparks and embers coming from a
fireplace or backyard burn, but not many of us have seen
a firebrand. This is a large piece of burning wood that
has been lifted high into the air by the heat of a forest
fire or house fire. Firebrands are the largest cause of
secondary fires starting hundreds of feet away, sometimes
even miles away from
the original fire. In 2005, the
cabin fire on Tennyson caused
firebrands to be thrown hundreds
of feet into the air and
were found half a block away
(500 feet). To demonstrate the
hazard, the fire chief brought
these baseball-sized firebrands
to the next fire practice. It
showed us that while we are
fighting the original fire, we
An example of a
firebrand on a roof.
must be on the lookout for spot
fires caused by firebrands. We
are all fortunate that another cabin fire, or two, wasn’t
started by firebrands landing in an eavestrough full of
dry needles, a debris-covered roof or deck, or woody
debris on the Savary forest floor.

2009 SUMMER EDITION SIVFD NEWS
ISSUE 2 PAGE 3 SUMMER 2009
High Fuel Loading
This could be almost anywhere on Savary. Fuel types include: ground fuels from dry
grass, wind debris, and logs; ladder fuels like low branches that help fire climb, dead
standing trees and snags; and high density of tree crowns enabling fire to spread quickly.
Your roof.
Would your roof withstand the heat of a hot burning
shower of sparks and embers? Would your roof catch fire
if a firebrand landed in the roof valley or rolled down into
the eavestrough, igniting dried leaves and needles? Even
a metal roof is vulnerable if the eavestrough is attached
to a wooden fascia because the flames can continue
under the roof’s edge.
If you haven’t built yet, or need to redo your
roof, consider using fire-rated roofing materials
like metal, or asphalt shingles instead of wooden
shakes. Clean your roof and eavestroughs of
winter-fallen branches, leaves and needles
every spring. This will reduce the amount of
fuel that a fire would use to spread to the inside
of your house.
Your deck.
Is your deck open underneath? If a firebrand
rolled under your deck would it find other flammable
materials?
Closing off the space under the deck would
increase your safety because the sparks, embers and
firebrands are less likely to get trapped below.
Your foundation.
Is your cabin raised off the ground and open to the possibility
of fire getting underneath? The same principle of
permitting entry to sparks, embers and firebrands applies
here. A lot of Savaryites also use this space for storage
of old lumber and other flammable materials.
Consider closing off this part of your cabin. You’ll also
benefit by the savings in heat. Clean out the old building
material that’s been under there for years, or decades.
SAVARY ISLAND
CWPP
“The aesthetic
quality of
the cabins on
the Island
elevate risks
associated with
wildfire
and structural
fires.”
Sell it, give it away, build something,
or burn it next winter.
Your siding.
Almost everybody’s cabin is sided
with wood. This is the second highest
structural fire hazard after roofing
material. A firebrand that gets lodged
against the siding may ignite the
entire cabin.
Consider using an alternative
fire-rated siding if you are due for a
change. Clean up combustibles like
branches and needles away from your
cabin. Dry vegetation next to your
cabin can trap embers.
Your firewood.
Hopefully you’re not storing your firewood
directly beside, against, or
underneath your cabin. If so, please
move it a safe distance away from
the main structure. The CWPP recommends
10 metres away.
Your generator shed.
Same principles as above, with a few other recommendations
from the SIVFD:
• Please bolt your generator to the floor so it stays put
and the exhaust pipe doesn’t contact your wooden walls.
A couple of small brackets or pieces of wood screwed into
the floor are all that’s needed.
• Store your gasoline in a location separate
from your generator shed.
• Keep a fire extinguisher near, not inside, your
generator shed so you can extinguish a small
fire yourself, if it’s safe to do so.
Your propane.
Can your propane tanks be quickly accessed
and shut off during a fire? Are they stored separate
from your cabin? If not, consider moving
them to a location away from the main cabin
that would reduce the possibility of them being
surrounded by structural fire.
Your island.
The lack of building code enforcement on the island has
given way to a lot of construction and design diversity,
some of which is not as safe as it could be.
Ultimately, it’s the responsibility of all Savaryites to
be FireSmart and protect themselves against the risk of
structural and forest wildfire. The CWPP recommendations
provide valuable information about how you can
make some changes around your property and cabin to
protect your family. ■

SIVFD NEWS
2009 SUMMER EDITION
ISSUE 2 PAGE 4 SUMMER 2009
Emergency Response
Evacuation plans and fire suppression.
Awareness.
We are all here to enjoy this unique island paradise, and
consider it to be our escape from the pressures of the city
and its daily grind. Nobody wants to imagine the possibility
of a major disaster on Savary. But in the case of a major
emergency there are two simple points to remember:
1. Communication.
One of the difficulties during a major emergency is knowing
how to effectively inform the public, be it evacuation
notices, road closures, health or safety concerns, etc. In
large-scale incidents it is often not practical for response
crews to give door-to-door emergency info. One way in
which the Regional District Emergency Program is planning
to meet this communications challenge is through
coordination with radio stations throughout our region
for the broadcast of pertinent emergency info.
Should the Emergency Program have important information
for the public during a major emergency (e.g.
earthquake, large fire), it will be broadcast on one of the
following FM stations:
95.7 FM – broadcast from Powell River
98.9 FM – broadcast from Courtenay
99.7 FM – broadcast from Campbell River
If there’s time to tune in to one of these stations then at
least you’ll know what’s happening on Savary and whether
there’s a need to evacuate.
2. Evacuation.
If you need to escape a major wildfire on Savary, you
should head to the beach. You and your family will be
found easier by emergency crews. Memorize at least two
evacuation points near your cabin, and head for the one
that’s not in the path of the smoke and fire. As per the
CWPP recommendations, the PRRD and the SIVFD will be
developing signage for marshalling points for boat and
air evacuation. The map below shows some of the main
points identified by the SIVFD.
If you do not need to travel on Savary’s roads then
you should not, because the roads are not designed for a
An example of a narrow, steep, unmaintained road on Savary.
sudden increase of panicked drivers. You could end up
blocking the emergency crews who are trying to get to
you and your neighbours. Walk along the shore to your
nearest evacuation point. Remember that the government
dock will be one of many points of egress for the
island, so don’t think it’s your only exit.
Improving our roads.
A major part of the CWPP is about our roads. They are
narrow, overgrown with poor sight lines, have too many
dead ends, are not well maintained, and do not allow for
SAVARY ISLAND
CWPP
“Narrow
road ways
may complicate
access and
evacuation
during wildfire
events.”
emergency vehicle access for a
significant portion of the island.
The SIVFD is not a proponent of
making this island into a paved
city. We have already shown our
ability to adapt by purchasing 4x4
emergency vehicles. But we would
prefer that the roads be maintained
to at least a minimum level
where we can safely get to you and your family in the
case of an emergency.
The CWPP report gives far more detail than this short
newsletter contains, and the SIVFD encourages all
Savaryites to get hold of a copy. ■
Download the Savary CWPP Report from:
www.powellriverrd.bc.ca (6.8MB)
Sign out a printed copy (80 pages), on-island:
Call Doug Smith 604-414-0770 or
Phil Zweep 604-414-0498