With the start to the 2024 wildfire season happening over the weekend, the City of Kamloops is hosting a one-day chipping service to mitigate fire risk in Juniper Ridge and Rosehill.
After several fire starts were reported in the Kamloops, Prince George and Cariboo fire centres, including a 1,600 ha wildfire near Quesnel and a now-extinguished fire near Cooney Bay in Kamloops, the city is taking extra precautions.
On May 13 in Juniper Ridge and May 14 in Rosehill, the city will be offering free chipping services to the first 20 registrants of each neighbourhood.
The chipping event will prioritize cedar hedges, which have led to several fires near homes in recent years.
A news release from the city says those two neighbourhoods were identified as priority areas for the free chipping service due to their proximity to other green spaces and “high volume” areas for FireSmart assessment requests.
“Now is the time for all residents to start thinking about what they can do around their homes to have the best chance should a wildfire advance on their home,” said Jeff Pont, Kamloops Fire Rescue’s Life and Fire Safety Educator.
“FireSmart is an amazing program with incredible results. The first step in creating a FireSmart zone is to remove all the combustibles around your home, and cedars are a great place to start.”
Juniper Ridge and Rosehill residents who wish to take advantage of this offer must register their property with Kamloops Fire Rescue at (250) 320-7641.
The city says that in order to ensure their cedars are chipped, homeowners will need to remove them and place the material at the edge of their property by the street.
A crew will arrive on the scheduled day and do the rest of the work.
For more information on FireSmart practices, the city says residents can visit this link.
The Kamloops Fire Rescue team has consistently issued warnings, advising people to remove cedar hedges.
That includes warnings in August 2022 and April 2023, after they responded to several "close-calls" involving hedge fires near homes.
