The Tyee and Wildfire - Well worth the read - and a personal rant.

https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/08/14/Wildfires-Five-Things-We-Can-Do/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=140825

Vast swaths of timber incinerate each year. My thoughts are that selective thinning and other forest practices that can reduce the intensity of wildfire, is a better option than leaving things intact and watching it burn.

As the prescription is developed for the spacing adjacent to the Baldy Road, I can't help but think that more widespread spacing could be justified. When the logs were decked from the fuel mod fire break near the ski area, I was taken on a tour. Many of those logs were already "denim pine." Sooner or later, the die off that is rampant in our village will be more obvious down the road. Would it be more economical to selectively log more of that down hill forest while it is merchantable timber? 

My grandmother's brother, and 3 more generations of his family have been loggers at the coast for a very long time. When they held all the timber rights to a particular Island, I was given a tour around 1980. I was shown blocks where the first generation had logged, some of which had already been logged again by the second or third generation. The regeneration rate on the coast was astounding at the time. I acknowledge that a lot has changed since 1980.

As I drive to Kelowna on Hwy 33, I see more lots being developed in forested areas. As previously noted, there are also water totes and buckets at the side of the highway where property owners are tired of seeing roadside fire starts.

When our village was laid out, the vision was for lots of trees. That was many decades ago. There are things we can do to protect our homes and investment. What is it going to take to get more owners to wake up and do something?

The FireSmart information is all available online. Free assessments and rebate grants have been on the table for some time. The dead trees in the village are not only fuel, but they are in danger of hitting your home and doing damage.

New buildings in our area require FireSmart exterior finishes.

I discussed our current situation with an area tree removal contractor. I asked him what he thought it would take to kick start FireSmart again in our community. His reply, another fire.

Trees are snapping and coming down in the village more often now.

Many of the absentee owners with their heads in the sand do not read this blog, particularly in the summer. So now you have seen another rant, and the people who most need to read it, probably won't.