LED signs/John Martin

By Vernon Matters Staff

Smart signs

West Kelowna group launches wildfire safety sign campaign

Jul 4, 2025 | 1:09 PM

A group of West Kelowna residents is turning the trauma of last year’s McD,ougall Creek wildfire into action, launching a grassroots fundraising campaign to boost public awareness and safety as fire season intensifies.

Led by John Martin, Heather Larratt and Olivia Lawson — and backed by West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund — the project aims to install two Electronic Fire Danger Rating LED signs in high-traffic locations around the city.

“We want to be better informed and educated — minute by minute — about wildfire risk levels in our area and along the back-country interface,” the group said in a post on their GoFundMe page.

The digital signs, developed in New Zealand and now used around the world, would provide real-time fire danger ratings and critical safety messaging. Organizers say the goal is to equip residents and visitors with the knowledge they need to make better decisions during wildfire season.

“Now obviously, these signs aren’t going to stop individuals from riding dirt bikes into the back-country during an ‘Extreme Warning’ level without a spark arrestor, or starting a fire in the bush to roast hot dogs,” the group wrote. “But that’s not the point.”

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Instead, they say it’s about shifting mindsets.

“We need to think differently about our forests, our watershed, and our community’s safety.”

The McDougall Creek Wildfire scorched thousands of hectares in 2023, destroyed homes, and left what organizers describe as a “lasting mark on our land, our water, and our sense of security.”

“Our watershed is vulnerable. Our trails are still recovering,” the campaign notes. “Honestly — look out your back or front door, we have to protect what’s left.”

The locations for the new signage will be selected in coordination with the West Kelowna Fire Department.