$45 sprinklers helped save Logan Lake from wildfire, says mayor – Kamloops News


A.D. In 2021, in the fight against wildfires, a small weapon changed everything.

Logan Lake Mayor Robin Smith praised the initiative to save more than 2,000 lives.

“It makes a difference. It makes a difference. It works,” Smith said.

The idea came from Dan Loiton, a former fire chief at Lake Logan.

“For us, there was a difference between being here and not being here,” Smith said.

Then, $ 45 (and up to $ 80) each can be connected to a simple garden hose.

The mayor added: “I think if we didn’t have that system, we would lose structures.

Logan Lake was ordered to be released in August 2021, after the Trentmon Creek wildfire quickly began to spread to the community.

Smith was one of those who called the case a “true experience.”

“They’re driving around the city and all the ambulances and they’re all driving with lights everywhere. It really looks like a war zone. It looks like you’re really doing what you are doing – you are. Fighting,” she said.

Lake Logan, surrounded by forests and extensively damaged by mountain pine beetles, was the first FireSmart community in all of Canada.

Smith recalls that the blaze came about 30 feet[30 m]from a man’s house.

“If we hadn’t had Fireworks Smart in Lake Logan, it would have been a different story. Firefighters would have given us a little more time.”

Last year’s fire season and recent call was an experience that opened Smith’s eyes.

“It’s not an experience I want to repeat,” she told Glacier Media.

She says she is constantly working to make sure Logan is a firewall.

“It doesn’t end, there is no expiration date and when things went well last year, this year or next year or so, it could be very different because it always depends on where the fire is coming from. Smith, and how much fuel there is.

Fire Chief Doug Wilson said the team had loaded about 70 firefighters since the Tramont Creek fire.

“We’re working 10 to 12 a week,” he said.

In all, about 400 houses have roofs. When Smith and Wilson talked extensively about the device, it was a very interesting idea. But it doesn’t seem to have started in other BC cities.

Sponsors can use ‘One Device’ property owners.

Glacier Media contacted the Ministry of Public Safety to find out what other communities are doing and what is being done to prevent wildfires.

Minister Mike Fernworth agrees that the fire extinguisher has shown how efficient and regular the fire is.

“Other communities have been implementing this. [the FireSmart program]. We want similar initiatives to expand, ”he said.

A spokesman for the BC Wildfire Service later told Glacier Media that the owners of Logan Lake could “choose to hire one device as part of a comprehensive wildfire reduction plan.”

Asked if other communities were deploying sprays in the same way, the spokesman indicated a list of FireSmart communities, noting that the strategy had been repeated elsewhere.

The mayor invited the firefighters to find out about the fireworks program

A spokesman for the BC Wildlife Service provided details of what happened in the state last year.

According to an email statement, the government has invested $ 1.2 million in planning and implementing traditional fire-fighting projects. This amount does not include the cost of burning or contributing to the BC Wildfire service on the First Nations stockpile.

“The Ministry of Forestry has cooperated with or assisted with the original governments in the implementation of a project that burned all BC, including Fraser Canyon, Okanagan, Côte d’Ivoire, Caribou and Chilkotin, and the Pemberton Valley,” the email said.

A.D. By 2022, the Ministry of Forest is monitoring 9,100 hectares of fires in 69 projects. This is an increase from 33 fires planned for 2021, the spokesman said.

The FireSmart program, described as a key framework for the protection of rebuilt lithots, includes plant management, construction of fire-resistant structures, and planning to re-introduce wildlife fires to the local landscape.

According to the spokesperson, the firearms plant program in the state has grown from two to 30 nurseries last June. During that time, 200 new local FireSmart representatives were trained, bringing the total to more than 600.

By the end of June, it was announced that two of the first houses to be rebuilt in Litton would be built by Nexii. The BC-based company is developing a low-cost, low-carbon, fire-resistant wood, cement and steel construction option.

“Litton First Nation will continue to explore home building technologies like Nexii to provide safe and affordable housing for our community members,” said Janet Webster, head of Litton First Nation.

The mayor of Logan Lake said she had heard details about the redevelopment in Liton.

“It’s great,” says Smith.

She is inviting any community or individual who wants to know more about the city’s FireSmart plans or sprays at any time.

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