Princeton FireSmart

09/02/2026

🍂 While we feel like the wildfire season has passed once the rain starts, Fall is actually one of the best times to prep your property for next year.
A few easy wins this long weekend:
🧹 Clear dry leaves, needles and twigs from your yard, roof and gutters
🪨 Swap bark mulch for gravel or rock in the first 1.5m around your home
✂️ Prune low branches and thin out small conifers (they act as "ladder fuels")
🚪 Make sure your address is visible from the road for emergency crews
🧹Clean out leaves, stored items and debris from under decks

Is your place FireSmart ready? Tag a neighbour who needs to see this! 👇
https://firesmartbc.ca/

08/26/2026

Support and services are available for people impacted by wildfires in B.C. 🔥

Call KUU-US Indigenous Crisis Line: 1 800 588-8717

Or the BC Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789 (no area code)

Learn more: https://ow.ly/Fbg650Sl5Qf

08/25/2026

As we approach the end of August, it can be easy to think the end of wildfire season is near. Not so fast!

Did you know?
Wildfire season in British Columbia often runs from April to October. After a long summer, August often presents some of the most extreme wildfire conditions seen all year. With vegetation having already been faced with months of hot, dry weather, fires can start easily and spread quickly.

Let’s have a FireSmart fall!
It’s not too late for homeowners to sign up for a Wildfire Mitigation Program home assessment at FiresmartBC.ca or email us in Princeton and RDOS Area H at [email protected]

As always, these assessments are FREE and provide property specific recommendations to reduce wildfire risk to your home and property! Better yet, completing an assessment and recommended mitigation works may qualify you for up to $1000 in available rebates!

Questions?
Contact your local FireSmart Coordinator at [email protected].

08/23/2026

Happy FireSmart Sunday!

🪑 What's Under Your Deck?

Decks often collect leaves, pine needles, and other combustible materials that can easily ignite from wind-blown embers.

This week:
🟡Remove debris from underneath your deck.
🟡Sweep leaves and needles from the deck surface.
🟡Store cushions and combustible furniture inside when wildfire threatens.
Remove any combustible stored items such as firewood, lumber and propane tanks.

For more information please visit

Once a year, the Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit brings together wildfire practitioners from all over BC and beyond. The upcoming summit will take place in Victoria on April 8 – 12, 2026.

08/19/2026

Excellent tips from FireSmart BC. No time like today to get started around the house especially with the current smoke in the air to remind you!

🔥 When it comes to wildfires, small changes around your home can make a big difference.

Embers, which are small pieces of burning debris carried by wind and the energy of a wildfire, can travel kilometres ahead of a fire.

When they land, embers can ignite combustible materials on or near a home. Once structures or surrounding materials begin to burn, they can generate even more embers that travel further into a community.

Simple actions can dramatically increase your home and property’s resistance to wildfire. Start with the areas that matter most, your home itself and the first few metres around it, and work your way outward.

🍂 Clear leaves, needles and other debris from around your home, decks and gutters
🪵 Move firewood and other combustible materials away from structures
🌿 Maintain vegetation around your home and remove dead or dry material
🏠 Look for places where embers could collect or enter your home

You don’t have to do everything at once. Each FireSmart action helps make your property and community more resilient.

Not sure where to start? Check out FireSmart BC, or the FireSmart Begins at Home Guide which walks you through practical steps you can take around your property:

It’s time to get FireSmart about wildfires in BC. Your community might not be ready to face this year’s wildfires. We’re here to help you be prepared.

08/10/2026

Join FireSmart Canada Ember the FireSmart Fox in wishing our American wildfire prevention partner Smokey the Bear a very happy birthday. He is famous for saying “Only you can prevent forest fires!” So true!

🐻 Smokey's powerful message, “Only you can prevent wildfires,” is just as relevant today as it was 82 years ago, with humans causing 9 out of 10 unwanted wildfires nationwide.

As the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history, we are grateful to Smokey for his unwavering efforts to help safeguard our most treasured places.

🎂Happy 82nd Birthday, !

08/09/2026

Wildfire activity across the province remains heightened and volatile. We are thinking of everyone affected, whether directly or through concern for family, friends, colleagues or communities. This includes many of our own staff members engaged in wildfire response, away from their homes and loved ones facing their own emergencies.

There are currently 105 active wildfires burning across the province, and 51 are classified as Out of Control. In the next 36 hours, we expect an increase in dry lightning across the central and southern interior regions. Fuel conditions across the province remain extremely dry, and the chance of ignition from incoming weather systems is significant.

We continue to respond 24/7 to new and active wildfires with all available resources. We have resources prepositioned across all areas of concern and continue to welcome support from outside of B.C. Overhead resources from Australia and New Zealand have arrived and are being deployed where they are needed most, and in the coming days, additional ground personnel will be arriving to bolster wildfire response efforts.

If you are not currently under an Evacuation Alert or Order, now is the time to become prepared.

PreparedBC provides comprehensive readiness resources for all emergencies: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc

FireSmartBC provides resources such as a Last-Minute Checklist to help prepare your home before evacuating: https://firesmartbc.ca/

08/07/2026

Notice from the Princeton Library

You don't want to miss Summer Reading Club in Princeton this Saturday: FireSmart BC will be here to teach us about fire safety outside our homes and wildfire preparedness.

PLUS there will be prizes sponsored by Rollie N Pollie's Ice Cream and Town of Princeton Recreation!

08/06/2026

Valuable info from BC Wildfire Service…

💧 Will a rooftop sprinkler protect my home from wildfire?

It's a question we hear every wildfire season.

The answer is: it's not that simple.

Structure protection sprinklers can be used as a last line of defence, but they aren't a substitute for FireSmart practices that reduce your home's vulnerability to wildfire.

Before installing a sprinkler system, there are important things to consider:

🏠 Is it appropriate for your property?
💧 Where will the water come from?
🚒 Could it affect water available for emergency response?
⚙️ Is it installed and used correctly?

Improperly installed or operated systems can cause water damage to your property and may not perform as expected during a wildfire.

If you're thinking about installing a rooftop sprinkler system, talk to your local fire department or FireSmart Coordinator before making a decision.

The best investment you can make is reducing your home's wildfire risk with proven FireSmart practices.

Learn more:

Wildfire is a risk that all British Columbians need to be prepared for. Whether you’re a homeowner or a community leader, FireSmart BC is your go-to source when preparing for wildfire season.

08/03/2026

It was a great turn out to the Eastgate Community Day Aug 2. Special shout out to Ember the FireSmart Fox for making a surprise appearance. As well as thanks to MLA Donegal Wilson, RDOS CAO Jim Zaffino, RDOS Manager of Regional Fire Services Tony Iannella and Sunshine Valley Volunteer Fire who attended. Everyone cheered the Duck race on and enjoyed excellent bbq sausages in a bun! Can you see the two hotdogs in the top photo?

Princeton and Area H FireSmart was there to answer lots of questions, provide information about FireSmarting your homes and handing out activity books and sporks to the children. Several Eastgate homeowners signed up for a free home hazard assessment, an excellent way to create a more wildfire resilient community!

Thank you to everyone who dropped by. Now to find out who planted those cedar shrubs behind me!!