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- What can I do to prevent fires around my property?
- Is there help available to help communities prevent wildfire?
Forest managers consider the risk of wildfires when planning for harvesting operations in Newfoundland and Labrador’s forests. To reduce the risk of wildfire, we focus on harvesting mature forests where there is a lot of flammable material on the ground.
Areas affected by spruce budworm are targeted for harvest to ensure trees killed by insects do not become dry tinder that can feed wildfires. In many areas of the province, we encourage harvesting blown-down trees under domestic wood cutting permits.
The Provincial Government is an active participant in FireSmart™ Canada, a national program within the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) that empowers Canadians to increase neighbourhood resilience to wildfires and minimize their negative impacts.
The program identifies and reduces wildfire risks and provides guidance for homeowners and communities.
What can I do to prevent fires around my property?
Property owners can help protect their homes, neighborhoods, and communities from the threat of wildland fire by creating defensible space around their properties, including:
- Maintaining a five-foot (1.5-metre) non-combustible zone immediately around your home.
- Cleaning out and screening gutters to prevent debris.
- Using fire-resistant roofing materials on homes.
- Cleaning underneath decks and enclosing them to prevent them from being filled with debris.
- Placing firewood piles away from your home.
- Trimming grass and weeds.
- Using FireSmart-approved vegetation when landscaping.
Is there help available to help communities prevent wildfire?
The Newfoundland and Labrador Community Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program is a community approach to wildfire resilience that helps identify and reduce wildfire risks.
The program supports local risk assessments, fuel management planning, and mitigation activities. It also strengthens community-level emergency preparedness by providing guidance to property owners to help them protect their homes from wildfires.
Communities including local service districts are encouraged to apply for funding to develop Community Wildland Fire Resiliency Plans and Community-based Wildfire Prevention/Mitigation Projects. These plans will incorporate education, emergency planning, vegetation management, and other principles to implement wildfire prevention and mitigation projects at a community level.
A Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan identifies and plans actions that reduce wildfire risks to community values, including life, property and critical infrastructure.
Plans are designed to support a whole-of-society approach to wildfire risk reduction, focusing on practical actions and recommendations informed by local knowledge, expert assessment and active participation from residents, all levels of government, and the private sector.
Together, these contributors help identify meaningful opportunities to reduce wildfire risk and strengthen community resilience.
When developing a Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan, consider:
- Forming a planning group consisting of partner organizations.
- Developing a project charter.
- Deciding on a risk assessment methodology.
- Developing a communication and engagement plan or strategy.
- Establishing a project timeline and review process.
- Identifying who is doing the work, including third parties.
- Determining how the plan will be finalized and endorsed.
- Identifying a plan for community engagement to share project goals.
- Seeking community input.
- Validating the results or final plan.
Community Wildfire Resiliency Plans should include:
- Purpose of the plan.
- Partners, stakeholders and other contributors.
- Planning area description.
- Risk or exposure assessment summary.
- Wildfire prevention and mitigation actions or recommendations that incorporate each of the seven FireSmart disciplines as actions or recommendations, including:
- Education
- Emergency Planning
- Vegetation Management
- Legislation
- Development
- Interagency Cooperation
- Cross-training
Examples of prevention and mitigation actions or recommendations
Education: Conduct an annual community meeting promoting FireSmart principles.
Emergency Planning: Host annual tactical exercises to practice evacuations and identify vulnerabilities.
Vegetation Management: Design a wildfire mitigation project to reduce fuel loads in high coniferous (evergreen) forests.
Legislation: Adopt FireSmart building and landscaping requirements.
Development: Assess community structures, and assign priority ranking, associated costs and support needs for each assessed structure.
Interagency Cooperation: Incorporation of Search and Rescue in emergency plans to aid RNC/RCMP in community evacuations.
Cross Training: Prioritize and coordinate training opportunities, such as the Incident Command System for local fire departments.
Community-based Wildfire Prevention/Mitigation Projects
A Community-based Wildfire Mitigation Project reduces and manages the risk of wildfire impacts on community values such as life, property, and critical infrastructure.
Prevention and mitigation activities may include fuel management, public education, or community planning and policy tools.
First-time applicants to the Newfoundland and Labrador Community Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Program are encouraged to apply for funding to develop a Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan before starting mitigation projects.
Communities with a completed Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan will be given priority when applying for a Community-based Wildfire Prevention/Mitigation Project (e.g., a fire break project).
For information, contact FireSmart@gov.nl.ca.
To learn more about protecting homes and properties, visit FireSmart Canada