Wildfire Protection

Kamloops Fire Rescue

TODAY'S WILDFIRE DANGER RATING IS: LOW

More Resources

Downloads
Community Wildfire Protection Plan - PDF
FireSmart Manual - PDF
FireSmart Presentation - Powerpoint
Wildfire Hazard Assessment Map - PDF

City of Kamloops
How to Protect Your Home
In The Event of a Wildfire
Forest Fuel Management
Wildfire Protection Program

Regional / Provincial
BC Wildfire Management
Provincial Emergency Program - BC
Thompson-Okanagan Interface Committee

Community Wildfire Protection

The City of Kamloops has been recognized by Partners in Protection for its proactive approach to wildland/urban interface fire prevention. The City of Kamloops is considered a template for success in the wildland/urban interface, recognizing the interface fire problem and the steps that have been taken to minimize the risk to wildfire.

Wildland/Urban Interface
The wildland/urban interface is the geographical point where the diverse values of the wilderness and urban development meet. In the interface, structures and vegetation are sufficiently close that a wildfire may spread to structures or a structural fire may ignite trees and vegetation.

The Challenge in Kamloops
Historically, forest fires naturally occurred every 3 to 30 years in Kamloops; due to their frequency they burned much cooler and would be smaller than a fire in today's conditions. However, extremely effective fire suppression over past century has allowed for forest ingrowth and dead vegetative material to accumulate increasing the fuel load in our natural forests. This accumulation of fuels poses a greater threat with each passing year as fuels continue to accumulate (a ponderosa pine typically loses 30-50% of its needles each year).

To add to the concern an increasing number of communities are being established in rural areas, placing homes directly adjacent to these flammable fuels and increasing the number and magnitude of wildland/urban interface incidents in British Columbia and within the City of Kamloops.

Wildland fire suppression and structural fire suppression separately can be extremely dangerous and costly. Wildland/urban interface fire suppression increases the expense and danger to all suppression resources and the public exponentially. Wildland/urban interface fires quickly overload all suppression, community and government resources.

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Contact
Urban Forest
955 Concordia Way
Kamloops, BC V2C 6V3
ph (250)828-3461
fax (250) 828-3790
email scook@kamloops.ca

Note: All correspondence is entered into our system, and will be dealt with in due process. Please allow several working days for a response. Thank you.