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New Firesmart workshop for Agriculture c

New wildfire preparedness workshop for farmers coming to Armstrong

Feb 4, 2019 | 1:15 PM

After two unprecedented wildfire seasons left farmers and ranchers scrambling to evacuate or abandon their animals, a new program is hoping to better prepare them in the event of a wildfire.

The Farm and Ranch Wildfire Mitigation and Preparation workshop will be making a stop in the Thompson-Okanagan, this month.

The workshop, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Climate Action Initiative, will be in Kamloops on Feb. 12. and in Armstrong on Feb. 14. 2019.

Kevin Smith, Assistant Fire Chief for Kaslo B.C, says the program is open to anyone who has a farm.

” We are obviously interested in getting large producers in , but even small hobby farms , market gardens, basically anything, if you have am agricultural product that you produce,”

He adds that the program focuses on protecting your crop and what to do in the event of structure loss.

” There really is a science behind these wildfire events, particularly with structure loss. So we bring in an educational component that allows everyone in the room to be brought to speed with where we understand structure loss occurs around radiant heat, exposure specifically from things like trees and large fuel loads close to the home but then we really look at mitigating the cause of structure loss.”

The workshop will be held at the Armstrong Fire Hall from 9 a.m. – 3p.m.

The event is free for all participants, and lunch is included .