100 Mile House now has its very own FireSmart coordinator.
This January longtime 100 Mile House resident and 100 Mile Fire Rescue Captain Ryan Dugaro took on this new role, funding by the BC Union of Municipalities Community Resiliency Investment Program. Dugaro said he is looking forward to laying the foundations of the District of 100 Mile House's FireSmart program and further educate the community on the importance of FireSmarting their properties.
"We're looking at the wildland-urban interface, where nature comes up against the community. 100 Mile does have quite a bit of that if you look at the surrounding area," Dugaro said. "Even properties within the community can do that. They have found that 90 per cent of the homes lost during these events (wildfires) are caused by flying embers. Even one small step to (FireSmart your property) is better than no steps."
FireSmarting refers to steps homeowners can take to protect their homes against fire. This can include clearing potential sources of fuel from your yard, clearing out your gutters of dry leaves, thinning trees and planting fire-resistant plants in your garden or yard. It's a program that has been heavily promoted in the years since the 2017 wildfire season.
Dugaro has lived in 100 Mile House since 2011 and worked at the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre for several years as their supervisor of youth services. He joined 100 Mile Fire Rescue in 2017 to help the community while learning new skills. In addition, he's come to enjoy the excitement of responding to calls and the challenges of the work.
When the FireSmart coordinator position became available, Dugaro was looking for a change of pace after his time with the CFEC. Dugaro said he already understood the FireSmart program on a basic level, as a firefighter, and that the education component of the role was similar to his work with CFEC.
"During the 2020 wildfires we were on properties doing down and dirty FireSmarting of properties while we were doing evacuations," Dugaro remarked. "Over time (100 Mile Fire Rescue) has gone to properties to help out by doing FireSmarting on properties."
Dugaro said he was thrilled and excited to be offered the role after he applied. He's spent the last few weeks settling into it and can already tell it's quite different from his firefighting work. Dugaro said this year the district is bringing in some experts to come up with a community wildfire plan which will help create goals for him and the district to move towards.
"My role for this first year is I won't be doing FireSmarting on the ground but I'll be educating people on how they can take steps to FireSmart their own properties or neighbourhoods as a collective," Dugaro explained. "My role is really heavily going to be leaning on that education piece. I'll be out at community events like, say, the farmers' market or events in the park to really get that word out there about what FireSmart is and what people can do to take steps on their own."
As he has settled into his role Dugaro said that the Cariboo Regional District's FireSmart coordinator, Travis Flannagan, has been a great resource to work with. Flannagan began his role just over a year ago after the CRD created their own FireSmart coordinator.
Dugaro said if the grant funding for his position is granted again he'll be able to look more at doing on-the-ground FireSmarting work in the future. In the meantime, he's focusing on the admin and education side of his role. To that end, he recommends the community check out firesmartbc.ca for detailed information on what FireSmarting is.
"They have so much information on there, it's such a great resource and most of the information we're going to be using in the next year is straight off of there," Dugaro remarked.
Anyone looking for more information on how they can FireSmart their home or who wants to contact Dugaro directly can do so by emailing him at firesmart@100milehouse.com or by calling the district office at 250-395-2434.
