Category: News

A COMMUNITY AWARENESS MESSAGE FROM YOUR PRCEMC

PRCEMC Logo


Community Safety
is our number one priority

Dear Neighbour,

Looking in the rear-view mirror, 2020 will be a year forever rooted in all our memories. It was a year that fundamentally challenged how we think about our health, our safety and our future.

We have endured an unbelievable year of challenges, but we have also witnessed a time of positive opportunities and change. The pandemic has shown us that working together, we can achieve great things. Our community, our country and the world have all come together to find ways to fight back against COVID-19.

We are especially proud of how our own community has come together to help support and protect one another. Here at Predator Ridge, we are fortunate to have an amazing group of volunteers that participate in the FireSmart and Block Watch programs and the Commonage Road Improvement Committee (CRIC) that continues to pursue major improvements to Commonage Road. This year, in the spirit of the holidays, we also saw both the community and Predator Ridge come together to participate in one of the best displays of Christmas lights ever.

We are also grateful to Predator Ridge, for their swift action in adapting new policies, procedures and thorough communications over this past year. They went above and beyond, creating new activities to help keep us safe, healthy and connected. From online music nights, virtual wine tastings, fitness classes and cooking classes, ploughed trails, a skating rink, golf simulators and the amazing holiday fireworks, we can’t say thank you enough!

PREDATOR RIDGE COMMUNITY SAFETY UPDATES:

Safety

With the winter season now upon us, many of us turn our thoughts to the beauty and fun of skating on natural ice on local ponds and lakes. Many factors can affect ice thickness including: type of water, location and the time of year. Why not take a moment to refresh your knowledge of ice safety by visiting this Red Cross website for some excellent information before you venture out on the ice.

This year with so many of us out walking on the roadways with family, friends and our pets it is important to be safe and visible. Please keep in mind that we are not always visible to oncoming traffic especially at dawn, dusk and at night. Wearing some form of reflective clothing or headlamps is one way to stay VISABLE. With the fluctuating temperatures, the road and pathways can be very icy and slippery. Wearing cleats is an excellent way to prevent an unexpected and possibly dangerous fall.

This year there have been several coyote sightings in and around our neighbourhoods. We remind our residents that we live in nature’s back yard. Contact with wildlife can occur and we need to be aware of how to respond. For more information on keeping wildlife wild and communities safe, visit the Wild Safe BC site of the BC Conservation Foundation.

Emergency Preparedness Throughout the Winter

During the next few months, it is important for us to think about being prepared for emergencies such as snow and or ice storms that could result in either road closures or power outages. We need to be prepared to be isolated for a period of 48 to 72 hours. Click the following link to preparedness at the Prepared BC website.

Block Watch

Our neighbourhoods have been made safer with the help of community Volunteer Block Watch Captains. We are one of the most organized Block Watch areas in the interior and have received many accolades for it. Visit our Community Safety website to discover more about what Block Watch is doing in our community: Block Watch.

Commonage Road Improvement Committee – CRIC

We will continue to monitor the winter road maintenance and the challenges we have experienced with ACCIONA Infrastructure and Maintenance (AIM). In late December we received a response to the Letter of Concern CRIC sent to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructures Deputy Minister. + View the letter from MoTI Deputy Minister.

FireSmart

Citizen involvement is the cornerstone of the FireSmart Canada Neighbourhood Recognition Program and here at Predator Ridge, we have no lack of involvement from our residents. Our community has been on the forefront of earning recognition as a FireSmart Neighbourhood and 2020 has been no exception. On October 17th, neighbours turned out in full force to clean-up a portion of the Birdie Lake Trail. In addition, throughout the entire year, many residents worked towards making our community that much more FireSmart by cleaning up their own private properties. To learn more about the FireSmart program here at Predator Ridge, visit the website at FireSmart.

In Closing

We continue to work with the City of Vernon and provincial authorities to provide information that is essential to our community well being. To view this information please visit Community Safety at Predator Ridge.
We trust that in spite of the many challenges in 2020, we have much to be grateful for in our community. We wish our entire community the absolute best in 2021.

Sincerely,
Your Predator Ridge Community Emergency Management Committee (PRCEMC)

Jim Popowich
Colleen Scott
Jane Toppozini
Gord Wilson
Kathy Pedersen
Luiz Araujo

Ice Safety

Know the dangers of ice

With the winter season now upon us, many of us turn our thoughts to the beauty and fun of skating on natural ice on local ponds and lakes. Many factors can affect ice thickness including: type of water, location and the time of year. Why not take a moment to refresh your knowledge of Ice Safety by visiting this Red Cross Website for some excellent information before you venture out on the ice.

FireSmart Canada Neighbourhood Recognition Program

Citizen involvement is the cornerstone of the FireSmart Canada Neighbourhood Recognition Program.

At Predator Ridge, we live in a region susceptible to wildfires. You can learn how to decrease the risk of losing your homes, and how to best protect yourselves in the event of a wildfire.

FireSmart homes and neighbourhoods allow firefighters to concentrate on fighting the wildfire, which ultimately saves more homes and lives.

Neighbourhoods in which residents take steps to reduce their vulnerability have a greater chance of surviving a wildfire without the intervention of the fire department.

Our community has been on the forefront of of earning recognition as a FireSmart Neighbourhood and 2020 has been no exception. On October 17th, neighbours turned out in full force to clean-up a portion of the Birdie Lake Trail.

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The FireSmart Community Recognition Program is transitioning to the FireSmart “Neighbourhood” Recognition Program. They have a great FireSmart e-Learning course on the website called FireSmart 101. It’s a terrific and informative course that doesn’t take too long (approx.-30 min). Click on the graphic below to take this online course. Very Worthwhile!

Hazard Risk Vulnerability Assessment (HRVA)

Since its inception in 2014, the PRCEMC has used this HRVA process, and continues to review and update its content on an annual basis. As you may expect, events such as Wildfire, Medical Emergencies, Break/Enter/Theft and Vandalism, Animal Encounters, as well as Missing Persons and other hazards, continue to be identified and addressed within our HRVA.
Our latest review in the 3rd quarter of 2020 identified the following top 5 priorities for action:

  1. Forest Fire/Wildfire
  2. Criminal Activity
  3. Lightning (injuries, fire)
  4. Blocked Access/Egress
  5. Missing Persons

Learn more about the HRVA process

FireSmart EVENT October 17th

This September brought a great deal of smoke into the interior and across BC from fires burning in the US and it serves as a reminder  to all of us that we need to keep our FireSmart Initiatives going to help protect our community.    The Predator Ridge FireSmart Committee has continued to apply for any grants that become available and we are pleased to announce that we have received a $500.00 Grant from FireSmart Canada and a $300.00 Grant from the City of Vernon for bins to collect and haul away debris from our Community Clean Up Event which will take place on October 17th.

We are looking for Volunteers for our Event on October 17th.  We appreciate your support, participation and commitment to the FireSmart program and our volunteer efforts during the past 5 years.  If you are new to the community, we welcome you to come out and learn about our FireSmart initiatives.

Due to Covid, we would ask you to sign up in advance to volunteer at this event.  This allows us to plan ahead and keep everyone working at a respectable distance with covid measures in place.  Please bring your own mask to the event. 

Details for the Event

Date: October 17th
Time: 9:00am to 12:00pm
Location: Birdie Lake Loop Trail

We will be starting at the Whitetail Entrance Sign and working our way along the trail towards Birdie Lake Lookout Loop.   Volunteer Numbers will determine how far we make it for the clean up

Volunteers please RSVP by October 13th or if you have any questions on this event email us at: PredFireSmart@outlook.com

Bottle Drive Suggestions from Block Watch

For distribution to all home owners as part of Block Watch.

Habitat for Humanity is a great cause and well supported by our community however we need residents to be aware of a couple of things.

Last week on Friday August 7 Predator Security advised us that there was suspicious vehicle activity in our community the night before (a smaller grey 4 door car). It was thought that this might be related to the upcoming Habitat bottle drive on Saturday August 8 as many residents put their bottles and cans out the night before. Pick up time is set for 9 am on the day of the bottle drive which was the Saturday. To prevent a situation where undesirable activity may occur residents are asked to put their items out the morning of the Bottle drive rather than the night before. 

We also have a situation where boxes of bottles may get wet from overnight sprinkler activity and the bottoms may fall open when picked up in the morning. This is a safety concern for those doing pick up (possible broken glass) and adds to having to deal with individual bottles – really slows down the process. 

So please address these concerns as we support this great cause in a safe and secure manner. Thank you.

Glory Westwell – Habitat for Humanity

Jim Popowich – Predator Community Block Watch

Help keep B.C. Day long weekend safe for everyone

Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development BC Wildfire Service

NEWS RELEASE

Help keep B.C. Day long weekend safe for everyone

VICTORIA – The BC Wildfire Service urges British Columbians to be safe in the woods and reminds everyone that the return of warm weather means an increasing risk of wildfires.

Although the start of this year’s wildfire season was quieter than normal, August is typically the most active month of B.C.’s wildfire season. This is why it is important for British Columbians and visitors to remain vigilant and ensure that they are using fire safely.

Human-caused fires are completely preventable and unnecessarily divert crucial firefighting resources from naturally occurring wildfires. From April 1 through July 29, 2020, the BC Wildfire Service responded to 239 wildfires throughout the province, approximately 85% of which were attributed to human activity.

“We know people want to get out into the great outdoors, but it’s important that everyone stay vigilant about fire safety,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “Fighting wildfires can be challenging at the best of times, but managing them in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic requires BC Wildfire Service staff to operate with even greater care. I urge everyone to support our crews by using fire responsibly and making sure that their activities don’t spark a wildfire this holiday weekend.”

Campfires are currently allowed in all areas of the province that fall under the BC Wildfire Service’s jurisdiction. However, people are urged to use caution and keep an ample supply of water nearby to fully extinguish their campfires.

Larger Category 2 and Category 3 open fires are prohibited in some regions of the province. Up-to-date information about current open burning prohibitions is available on the BC Wildfire Service website at: www.gov.bc.ca/wildfirebans

Local governments and other jurisdictions (e.g., BC Parks) may have their own burning restrictions or bylaws in place. People should also check with those authorities before lighting any fire.

Campfire safety and fire precautions:

  • Campfires must not be larger than 0.5 metres high or 0.5 metres wide.
  • Never light a campfire or keep it burning in windy conditions. Weather can change quickly, and wind may carry embers to other combustible material.
  • Maintain a fireguard around the campfire. This is a fuel-free area where all flammable materials (grass, leaves, kindling, etc.) have been removed right down to the soil.
  • Never leave a campfire unattended.
  • Have a shovel or at least eight litres of water available to properly extinguish your campfire.
  • Make sure the ashes are cool to the touch before retiring for the night or leaving the area for any length of time.

Other precautions:

  • Anyone riding an all-terrain vehicle or dirt bike on Crown land must have a spark arrestor installed on the vehicle. To help reduce wildfire risks, check the condition of the muffler, regularly clear buildups of grass or other vegetation from hot spots, stay on dirt paths and avoid riding in tall grass and weeds.
  • Smokers must dispose of cigarette butts and other smoking materials responsibly and ensure those materials are completely extinguished.

The government’s conservation officers conduct regular patrols throughout British Columbia, while natural resource officers from the Compliance and Enforcement Branch work closely with BC Wildfire Service staff to investigate the cause of wildfires and any improper fire use when an open burning prohibition is in effect.

Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. For up-to-date information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, call 1 888 3-FOREST or visit: www.bcwildfire.ca

People can also follow the latest wildfire news:

Learn More:

Current open burning prohibitions: www.gov.bc.ca/wildfirebans

Wildfire prevention: www.gov.bc.ca/wildfireprevention

British Columbia FireSmart: https://firesmartbc.ca/

Contact:

Provincial Fire Information

BC Wildfire Service
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development

250 312-3051

Connect with the Province of B.C. at: http://news.gov.bc.ca/connect

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