To help residents tackle their FireSmart projects, the District of Invermere is offering programs to help with the cost or simply make the work easier.

Invermere FireSmart is offering a pilot chipping program to help residents reduce wildfire fuels around their homes on their property.

Registration is mandatory and will provide us with a better idea of how many homes would benefit from this FREE service.

Funding for this project is paid in full by the UBCM Community Resiliency Investment Grant.

In order to help homeowners with the cost of making FireSmart improvements to their homes, the District of Invermere is offering rebates for eligible FireSmart activities.

To qualify for a rebate, homeowners must first obtain a Wildfire Mitigation Home Assessment, complete with a list of recommendations.  With these recommendations, a rebate work plan will be created by the Wildfire Mitigation Specialist in collaboration with the homeowner. The activities listed in the rebate work plan will be completed by the homeowners themselves or with the use of contractors. Once some or all of the priority projects are completed, a follow-up assessment will be conducted with rebates issued afterward. Currently, rebates are limited to 50% of the total cost of eligible activities up to a maximum of $1000.  Rebates are available on a first come, first served basis and each year has a limited amount of funding.

Funding for this project is paid in full by the UBCM Community Resiliency Investment Grant.

Where to start? You can take simple steps to protect your home and strengthen your community.

Too busy? You don’t need to do everything at once! Anything is better than nothing.

1. Understand the threat to better fight it and use this to your advantage to FireSmart your home. The FireSmart BC homeowner manual will guide you through it.
2. Get a FREE Wildfire Mitigation Home Assessment. During your home assessment you can talk to your Wildfire Mitigation Specialist about how you can better prepare your home from Wildfires.
3. Talk to your neighbour about FireSmart. Home to home ignition contributes to carrying a wildfire through a neighbourhood or community. The more adjacent properties are FireSmart; the lesser is the risk in the area.Once you have been through mitigating the risk on your property, share your experience with your neighbours. Helping them also enhances the protection of your own home.
4. Get recognized. The FireSmart Canada Neighbourhood Recognition programrecognizes neighbourhoods that have taken critical steps to reduce their vulnerabilities to wildfire. Because FireSmart is most effective when neighbours band together.

Interested? Become a neighbourhood champion and contact the local FireSmart Coordinator for information and make a plan.

Tip: Recognized FireSmart Neighbourhood’s sizes are variable – they can be grand like CastleRock Estates or as modest as a cul-de-sac, depending on the area.

There are a few Recognized FireSmart Neighbourhoods in the Valley and over 100 across BC.

Watch the inspiring stories of CastleRock Estates, Shuswap Band and Rushmere. Join the wave and get your neighbourhood recognized by contacting your FireSmart Coordinator.

Are you not convinced? Listen to Logan Lake’s Fire Chief about his town facing the Tremont Creek wildfire during summer 2021. Logan Lake was Canada’s First FireSmart Community in 2013.

FireSmart, Intelli-feu and other associated Marks are trademarks of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.