During the winter months, storms and inclement weather cause combustible materials to accumulate in local forests, which can build up to dangerous levels and cause summer fires, according to Powell River Regional District manager of emergency services Ryan Thoms.
“We’re always having to maintain trails because trees are falling over in windstorms,” said Thoms.
Several groups of volunteers have stepped up in recent years to help maintain local trails and parks, and one of their goals is fire mitigation.
The Bloody Old Men’s Brigade (BOMB) Squad is among the groups clearing brush and cutting down trees in Millennium Park on a regular basis during the winter.
According to BOMB squad coordinator Patrick Walsh, since the park is located is the centre of Powell River the threat of an urban fire is a concern.
“The risk of an interface fire is real,” said Walsh, “as we’ve seen throughout the province.”
Winter is the appropriate time to take care of the clearing as rain and moisture causes the brush and deadfall trees to rot, preventing it from becoming tinder and getting up into the canopy of the tree.
“Any tree that’s hung up that’s dead provides a ready-made fire route up into the canopy of the tree,” said Walsh.
The volunteer crew heads out twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays to tend to the park, he said.
“It’s a big park; it takes a lot of work, a lot of hours,” said Walsh. “We look after something like 300 trails in our area here.”
Thoms said many volunteer groups, along with all three levels of government in the community, City of Powell River, Powell River Regional District and Tla’amin Nation, are working together on fire mitigation around the region.
“We have a lot of great groups, the Chain Gang, the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society group, the ATV group, as well as our local government parks crews,” said Thoms.
Walsh said the initial priorities in Millennium Park have been to re-establish the trails by opening up the sight lines so people feel safe using the paths, improving drainage and surfacing so the trails can be used year-round and replacing aging boardwalks and bridges. The work was done in conjunction with city parks, recreation and culture department staff members.
The group works on more than just Millennium Park, said Walsh. Other volunteer-run trails include Sunshine Coast Trail, a 180-kilometre hut-to-hut hiking trail maintained by the parks and wilderness society. The BOMB squad assists when it can, added Walsh.
Fire mitigation goes beyond trail clearing to public education, according to Thoms.
“As private homeowners, it’s looking at the kind of building materials we’re choosing, from siding roofing material to decks,” he said.
Some actions homeowners can take are common sense, however, residents can still use reminders.
“It’s reminding people in the middle of summer that a gutter full of needles and dried leaves is a great place for embers to land and start a fire,” said Thoms.
Prevention is key, because while forest fires are an inevitable part of life in BC; mitigation processes can go a long way in limiting their destruction, he added.
“Fires will always happen to some degree,” said Thoms, “but the goal is if we mitigate as much as possible, when fires do happen they’re not going to become problem or dangerous fires.”
Motivation for the hardworking volunteers is to help protect and improve something of incalculable value to the whole community, said Walsh.
“Millennium park is the jewel in the heart of the city,” he said. “We need to protect it for a whole bunch of different reasons, not least of which is public safety.”
