By Steve Hubrecht
Warmer temperatures have crept into the Columbia Valley in recent weeks, the ski hills have closed for the season, and buds are all over the tree branches.
Spring is here, and most residents are out enjoying the extra sunshine, longer daylight hours, and pleasant conditions. But for several locals the arrival of spring is a reminder that summer – and the associated spike in wildfire risk — is not far off.
At least three separate such reminders cropped up during last week’s Invermere council meeting: the new Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (CWRP) was approved for public release; Invermere FireSmart coordinator Cass Dearlove outlined upcoming brush trimming to reduce fire risk within the district; and a Johnston Road resident sent a letter outlining the fire risk posed by a neighbouring vacant lot with thick, dry underbrush and downed/dead trees. That letter prompted discussion by council on measures Invermere can take to deal with such situations, including the possibility of a bylaw.
The thinning will happen in two “small pockets” of district-owned land in Invermere, explained Dearlove: the slope heading down to the railway behind the Rocky Mountain School District 6 office building; and a hill slope heading down into a gully to the west of 12th Avenue near the start of Kpokl Road, as well as a very narrow public right-of-way at the bottom of that gully.
The work will be carried out by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), and the spots getting trimmed were identified in the wildfire resiliency plan.
The letter, from Roy Healy, outlined that the vacant lot near him is “a huge disaster waiting to happen.” He noted it has been for sale on and off for several years, and in the meantime has become covered in underbrush so thick it is “sometimes knee high” as well as plenty of fallen trees, dead branches and dead roots.
The two windstorms last year only made things worse, outlined Healy in the letter, later adding that the property poses “a very high wildfire risk” to Invermere, in particular the CastleRock and Pineridge subdivisions. He asked council to take action, given the ever increasing amount of combustible material on the property and the ever increasing risk of wildfires each summer.
Councillor Gerry Taft said the lot mentioned by Healy is not the only troublesome piece of private land in Invermere when it comes to wildfire risk, and wondered what approach is best to deal with these properties. He said the district has an unsightly premises bylaw, which theoretically could be used to address overgrown lots, but wasn’t sure if that went far enough.
“Could we have some kind of process in which we warn the property owners that this presents a fire risk?” asked Taft.
Invermere chief administrative officer Dean McKinley previously worked in the District of Mackenzie in northern British Columbia. A mill closure there resulted in tremendous job losses and residents moving away. That translated to many lots with overgrown grass, explained McKinley. If it got particularly bad, the District of Mackenzie would send letters to the homeowners telling them they needed to get their grass mowed, and if they didn’t the district would mow it for them and then send them a bill.
“It could be an option here,” mused McKinley.
Councillor Kayja Becker felt that approach could work, especially if the initial letter to homeowners gave information on how to deal with overgrown grass and underbrush and provided a list of contractors who could help deal with it.
A new bylaw, dealing specifically with overgrown properties creating a fire risk, could be another option, added councillor Grant Kelly.
