FireSmart Tips

Cleaning your roof and gutters of leaves and pine needles (best done fall and spring) is a free FireSmart Activity!

Relocating propane tanks 10 meters from your house is a free FireSmart activity!

Managing the area around your property is easy and important. Fuel removal and reduction can be achieved through hand clearing, watering, grazing, prescribed burning, or mechanical options.

Keep grass cut to less than 10cm – fires can ignite and travel quickly through long grass.

MYTH:  If I know the back streets in my suburb or town well, it will be ok for me to leave at the very last minute.

FACT: Smoke from a fire can limit visibility and you may become confused or disoriented.  Power lines and fallen trees on roads may be hard to see making driving dangerous.  It is always better to leave early before the fire arrives.

Are overhead power lines clear of vegetation?  Contact your service provider for assistance with removing trees close to utility lines.

Wooden fences create a direct path from the fire to your home.  Separating your house from a wooden fence with a metal gate can slow the advance of a fire.

MYTH:  It won’t happen to me!

FACT:  No one can guarantee that it won’t happen to you.  If you prepare and nothing ever happens, then you have lost nothing.  If you do not prepare your family and home in order to best protect them from a wildfire, you may not live to regret it!