Baldy Community - since 1968

Monday, June 22, 2026

Saturday

There is plenty of info, courses and videos on firesmartbc.ca .

What is different about Saturday, is the opportunity to meet face to face with a FireSmart assessor, someone from BC Wildfire, and members of your community.

I'll have a complete guest list later in the week.

We have plenty of new folks in the village - we all need to work together to protect our community.

Some things you may not know:

In 2021, one structure protection specialist said they could not save the village, there are too many trees, and houses are close together
Several structure protection specialists have stated that if you have done the work on your property, and it won't take them long to do a couple of last minute things, they will try to protect it. If you haven't done the work, and it would take them a long time to try and protect it, they will move on in order to protect as many homes as possible.
Precedent was set in Fort Mac - insurer of a FireSmart home sued the insurer of an adjacent home that was not FireSmart, and caused the ignition of the other.

I do not accept the statement, "well we have insurance." What good is your insurance if the whole area that is our happy place is incinerated?

This area was incinerated in 1930.

Veteran wildfire specialists all over the Province have stated that they have seen extreme wildfire behaviour in the last few years - the worst they have encountered.

There is heavy fuel loading in the forest.

Some articles will tell you that if the fire is extremely hot, it can eliminate the things in the soil that are required to support new growth.

You have a FireSmart group and a Community Association who have been working hard to get grant funding/projects on the crown land around the ski area.

If you drive up from Highway 3, you can see the park like spacing left after removing ground and ladder fuels along the road corridor.

There is a prescription in place to carry that work all the way up to the ski area, however we do not know when the funding may be provided for that.

Our village needs a lot more work. An ember landing in a pile of pine needles is going to ignite.

Take a look at Australian Kendal's place. He consulted with his 9:00am ski buddy, and hired Andrew and Larix to clean up his property. Next door Bruce and Jan have done their own clean up.

Sunday, June 21, 2026

Debris Removal

Long before "FireSmart" became the term, I started the first community burn pile some 35 years ago. It was in plain sight, and easy to monitor.

I will not comment on why we lost the burn pile down the road, but two of the reasons we lost the gravel pit were an opinion that the site was not suitable, and someone dumped construction debris there last fall.

When I was on the FireSmart board, I arranged one day of chipping in the village. The workers doing the work were harassed multiple times. I won't organize that again.

Our options now:

Saturday and Sunday 9:00 -5:00 - take your branches and forest debris to the container in the parking lot. No Stumps, no logs.
Check the RDKB info and haul what is permissible to Rock Creek

Organize some others for tree falling and debris removal together. Andrew falls trees, Larix Tree services climbs them, has a bucket truck, a chipper, and a machine with a rake to clear up the forest floor. Andrew comes from Midway, Larix comes from Greenwood. A few properties booked together can save moving equipment.

If you are taking down trees and don't want the firewood, place logs 3 - 6ft long at the edge of your property and others will take it - put out a sign or post on FB, or send your listing to unbaldy@gmail.com .

You can contact the winter snow removal contractor to see what services they might provide.

Better Mapping

Fire to the northeast of us is now listed at 7.6 hectares - due to better mapping, not significant spread. Now listed as "being held."

Free Printer Ink

CLI 250, CLI 251 Canon. 3 Sealed cartridges, 5 self-sealed cartridges. Free if Baldy pick-up or Oliver meet-up.

or cost of shipping to you.

BMR Summer Events

Check the BMR events page for the dates of the Artisan markets, the days of summer barbeques, and which days you can grab snacks, beverages and ice cream at the kiosk.

Trails Grant and Community Hours

The first of several trails work parties is this Sunday June 28th. I will have more details to post this week.

The community association obtained a grant for trails upgrade and signage focusing on the east side. The grant requires that the community put in hours.

A work party is great for comraderie. I know that a few people in the village go out and do trail work on their own. If you document that work, it may count toward hours for the grant. A photo, the name of the trail, the volunteer names and hours can be submitted through unbaldy@gmail.com .

Summer Soltice

I reassured a friend the other day that the ground was still damp in my backyard. There was noticeable inflow into the open reservoir below Ponderosa. Ditches and creeks were active when I was exploring the other day.

The backyard is drying out, the village roads are drying out (note to self, slow down). There is a wildfire being actionned north of us, and a recent interface fire in West Kelowna, both human caused.

You may like your summers on the beach and winters at Baldy, but don't forget all of us need to do some summer work on our properties for our ourselves, and the common good.

June 27th weekend is a good weekend to be up here - opportunities to talk to wildfire professionals, book a wildfire assessment, take you branches and forest debris to the dumpsters provided (not trees or stumps)

If you have removed trees and don't want the firewood, place lengths of the logs at the edge of your property with a sign or a post on the FB page, and others will take them for firewood.

Welcome Sunnie!

I love puppies, and Sunnie is adorable. It has been awhile since I played with one. I wasn't quick enough with her playful sharp teeth. Thankfully my hand is healing well this morning. Just one photo this morning - Jayne is much more proficient than I am with photoshop on the background.