The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) FireSmart team is offering free neighbourhood wildfire hazard assessments to people living in strata, manufactured home, and gated communities. The process encourages neighbours to work together using FireSmart principles to help protect their home and neighbourhood during a wildfire.
Now is the time to take steps to protect your property, not when the fire is across the road. “By booking your free neighbourhood assessment, you’re taking a first step toward keeping your home and neighbourhood safe from the risk of wildfire,” said Kerry Riess, RDOS FireSmart Coordinator. “A member of the RDOS FireSmart team will visit your community to evaluate the risks and help you get a plan in place.”
The RDOS FireSmart team has expanded its services to create the strata and neighbourhood assessment process. This involves evaluating the community’s risk of wildfire and recommending proactive actions to improve a home’s chance of survival.
The FireSmart neighbourhood assessment focuses on the home’s vulnerability to embers and small surface fires, the condition of the structures themselves, immediate hazards within the area, and concerns presented by common/open space areas or adjacent public lands. The assessment also considers factors, including home construction, general landscaping, slope and aspect of the neighbourhood, and housing density.
For further information, please visit firesmart.rdos.bc.ca