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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. ■
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