Sooke FireSmart Program

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British Columbia has experienced unprecedented wildfire seasons in recent years. The changing climate, higher temperatures and drought conditions are all leading causes of aggressive fire behaviour and longer wildfire seasons. Living in a fire-prone ecosystem means we must implement wildfire mitigation strategies to reduce our wildfire risk and protect our community.

Fires on the coast can be vigorous especially in steep/difficult terrain and/or in drought-stricken areas. Lightning storms and water shortages are becoming more common during the summer months and impact both fire behaviour and response operations on the coast.

Preparing for the threat of wildfire is a shared responsibility from homeowners, to businesses to government. We all have the responsibility to reduce our risk and increase our wildfire resiliency.

What is the Risk? The Wildfire Risk Framework used in BC supports initiatives related to wildfire risk reduction. The largest threat to Sooke is wildfire as our community is currently classified in the highest risk category.

This framework measures risk and considers the likelihood of a wildfire event, community consequences, and impacts to high-value resources and assets. By identifying these risk levels, we can prioritize mitigation efforts and increase community resiliency to wildfire.

What is the Structure Ignition Problem? Many homeowners falsely assume there is no wildfire threat to their home and property if not directly on the forest’s edge or in contact with flames. Embers and burning debris can easily travel up to two kilometers ahead of a wildfire and ignite materials on or near your home. This can cause severe damage or total home loss.

Most homes destroyed during a wildfire event are from embers, and surface fires that have not yet reached the crown of the trees. Once homes or adjacent materials begin burning, these residential fuels burn at a higher intensity. The fire will then continue to spread rapidly throughout the community igniting multiple structures simultaneously through direct flame, radiant heat, and casting of shorter ranged embers. No longer influenced by the original wildfire, this urban fire will continue to burn residential fuels and flammable materials.

What is FireSmart? Being FireSmart is about living and co-existing with wildfires because it’s not a matter of if, but when. It’s a tool designed to reduce the likelihood of large uncontrollable, high intensity wildfires within the Wildland Urban Interface.

Recent science and studies have shown that overtime, FireSmart principles can significantly reduce the risk related to losses in the most extreme wildfire conditions. Laboratory testing, physical modeling and recent wildfire events have increased our understanding of structural ignitions and fire behaviour such as radiant heat transfer and the flammability of different building materials.


British Columbia has experienced unprecedented wildfire seasons in recent years. The changing climate, higher temperatures and drought conditions are all leading causes of aggressive fire behaviour and longer wildfire seasons. Living in a fire-prone ecosystem means we must implement wildfire mitigation strategies to reduce our wildfire risk and protect our community.

Fires on the coast can be vigorous especially in steep/difficult terrain and/or in drought-stricken areas. Lightning storms and water shortages are becoming more common during the summer months and impact both fire behaviour and response operations on the coast.

Preparing for the threat of wildfire is a shared responsibility from homeowners, to businesses to government. We all have the responsibility to reduce our risk and increase our wildfire resiliency.

What is the Risk? The Wildfire Risk Framework used in BC supports initiatives related to wildfire risk reduction. The largest threat to Sooke is wildfire as our community is currently classified in the highest risk category.

This framework measures risk and considers the likelihood of a wildfire event, community consequences, and impacts to high-value resources and assets. By identifying these risk levels, we can prioritize mitigation efforts and increase community resiliency to wildfire.

What is the Structure Ignition Problem? Many homeowners falsely assume there is no wildfire threat to their home and property if not directly on the forest’s edge or in contact with flames. Embers and burning debris can easily travel up to two kilometers ahead of a wildfire and ignite materials on or near your home. This can cause severe damage or total home loss.

Most homes destroyed during a wildfire event are from embers, and surface fires that have not yet reached the crown of the trees. Once homes or adjacent materials begin burning, these residential fuels burn at a higher intensity. The fire will then continue to spread rapidly throughout the community igniting multiple structures simultaneously through direct flame, radiant heat, and casting of shorter ranged embers. No longer influenced by the original wildfire, this urban fire will continue to burn residential fuels and flammable materials.

What is FireSmart? Being FireSmart is about living and co-existing with wildfires because it’s not a matter of if, but when. It’s a tool designed to reduce the likelihood of large uncontrollable, high intensity wildfires within the Wildland Urban Interface.

Recent science and studies have shown that overtime, FireSmart principles can significantly reduce the risk related to losses in the most extreme wildfire conditions. Laboratory testing, physical modeling and recent wildfire events have increased our understanding of structural ignitions and fire behaviour such as radiant heat transfer and the flammability of different building materials.


  • New Fire Starts!

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    The upcoming wildfire season is going to be here sooner than you think! Take time this spring, to best prepare your home and property from wildfire.

    Removing combustible debris and following FireSmart principles will significantly reduce your wildfire risk and help keep our community safe.

    Learn more about the new fire starts last week in the southern interior: https://globalnews.ca/news/9587647/19-fires-sparked-southern-interior-march/

    Be prepared and get FireSmart today! Learn more by contacting Sooke Fire Rescue or visit:     https://letstalk.sooke.ca/firesmart

  • FireSmart BC Plant Program

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    Calling all garden centres, nurseries, and growers—the FireSmart BC Plant Program is back by popular demand. The program provides tags—at no cost to retailers—that show buyers, right at the point of purchase, exactly which plants are considered more fire-resistant.


    With the help of the FireSmart BC Plant Program, home and garden centres, local growers, wholesalers, and suppliers can be a place for British Columbians to learn and grow as members of a FireSmart community.

    To find out more about getting involved, contact landscaping@firesmartbc.ca or visit https://firesmartbc.ca/landscaping-hub/plant-program/


  • Proactive Model of Wildfire Management

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    Until recently, BC has focused on aggressive and effective fire suppression. Overtime, this has increased the risk of high-ranking, devastating wildfires and negatively impacted biodiversity and forest health.

    BC is now shifting to a holistic approach to wildfire management, incorporating proactive preventative measures, not just fire suppression. Learn more how we are moving towards a more proactive model here: https://firesmartbc.ca/shifting-to-a-proactive-model-of-wildfire-management/

  • HIZ Update

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    Our Home Ignition Zone has a new look! Following recent research and post-wildfire studies, we have updated the HIZ to help you reduce wildland fire risk to your home and property. The new version emphasizes the importance of building resiliency in the Immediate Zone, where your home and other buildings are located.

    Did you know there are special precautions you can take in each of the three zones surrounding your home to help minimize the threat of wildland fire?

    Find all the details and more resources on our website: http://ow.ly/lvuH50N5LWs

  • FireSmart Information Session

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    Mark your calendar! Join us at the VI Regional Library Sooke on Monday, April 17th at 7:00 pm for a free FireSmart information session.

    Learn more about how you can help increase our community resiliency to wildfire. Topics include Sooke’s wildfire risk, fire behaviour, the wildland urban interface zone, FireSmart principles, and how to protect your home and community.

    For more info visit: https://virl.bc.ca/event/get-firesmart-sooke-information-session/


  • Resident Story from Squamish

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    The wildfire risk here on the Coast is real. Sooke has a high wildland urban interface risk class rating despite being in a temperate rainforest geoclimatic zone.

    Listen to this firsthand account from a resident in Squamish, a close-to-home coastal community: https://vimeo.com/433015037?embedded=true...

    The homeowners that put in a little time and effort can significantly reduce their risk which could save their home. Don’t wait – educate yourself on how to prepare your property for wildfire. Find out more at https://firesmartbc.ca/ or contact Sooke Fire Rescue.


  • Reducing Risk in Quesnel

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    Quesnel has partnered up with the Ministry of Forests and industry to advocate for sustainable forestry including proactive wildfire risk reduction.

    This collaborative approach shows how wildfire mitigation efforts go beyond private properties and extends into the natural landscape for risk reduction to be successful.

    Learn more here: https://www.woodbusiness.ca/reducing-wildfire-risk-through-a-holistic-approach-in-quesnel-b-c/


  • Wildfire Structure Survival

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    Recent science and studies have shown that overtime, FireSmart principles can significantly reduce the risk related to losses in a wildfire event.

    Laboratory testing, physical modeling and recent wildfires have increased our understanding of structural ignitions and fire behaviour such as radiant heat transfer and the flammability of different building materials.

    Check out this quick break down of structural survival based on various degrees of FireSmart implementation: https://firesmartbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Wildfire-Structure-Survival-Statistics.pdf


  • Banff National Park

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    It may not seem like the right time to prepare for the wildfire season, but it is! Whether it’s reducing risk on private property or building more resilient parks, wildfire mitigation is a year-round job.

    Learn more about what Parks Canada is doing this winter in Banff National Park here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/parks-canada-banff-forest-fires-climate-change-1.6732381

  • FireSmart Home Tip: Clean Gutters

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    The gutters on your home provide a place for combustible debris such as leaves and pine needles to accumulate. Embers and sparks can travel and easily ignite these materials. Regularly clean and remove all combustible debris from your gutters.

Page last updated: 22 Apr 2024, 03:08 PM