FireSmart

The District of West Vancouver is a FireSmart Community. This program provides residents with guidance to significantly reduce fire hazards in their neighbourhood.

The FireSmart program is designed to encourage local, self-organized groups of neighbours to implement solutions for wildfire safety by engaging and supporting homeowners, community leaders and others in shared efforts to protect people and property from wildfire.

The first step to becoming FireSmart is to educate yourself, your family and your community. Find out what you need to know to increase the wildfire resiliency of your property and neighbourhood.

FireSmart Workshops

FireSmart Workshop are occasionally held to provide residents with more information about what it means to be FireSmart.

Presentations are recorded for those who could not attend.

Watch the presentations on YouTube

April 26, 2022 FireSmart Workshop - for developers and builders

July 29, 2021 FireSmart Workshop

Protect your home, yard & neighbourhood

Help decrease the risk of wildfire to your home, yard, and neighbourhood by taking steps to reduce fuel for embers and flames.

Homes ignite due to the condition of the home and everything that surrounds it. Changes within 10 metres of your home, including the removal of combustible surface material, will have the biggest impact.

Click here to enlarge the image.

What you can do:

If you live in an eligible neighbourhood, sign-up for a FireSmart Home Assessment in the section above
Review the FireSmart Home Assessment Score Card or download the Fire Smart Begins at Home app
Take a look at the FireSmart Begins at Home Manual
Watch Penticton’s Fire Chief give a Home Ignition Assessment for a homeowner
When making FireSmart changes to your yard, consider timelines for bird nesting seasons and District of West Vancouver tree management regulations. Follow riparian area guidelines and take measures to prevent the spread of invasive plant species:

Invasive species

District of West Vancouver tree management

Nesting information (Zone A1)

Riparian Areas Regulation Brochure (BC)

Riparian Areas Protection Regulation (BC)

Eco-friendly lawns and gardens

Wildfire Hazard Development Permits

To protect against wildfire risk, Wildfire Hazard Development Permits are required for work within the Wildfire Hazard Development Permit Area (i.e., within 100 metres of an undisturbed forest interface).

Wildfire Hazard Development Permits

We're looking for volunteers

Community Champions are needed in each of the seven FireSmart neighbourhood zones in West Vancouver.

As neighbourhood leaders, Community Champions are volunteers who advocate for wildfire safety. They connect with and motivate their neighbours to make their homes and communities less vulnerable to fire.

Volunteers will take part in FireSmart workshops to learn more about how to develop an action plan to reduce wildfire hazards. They then pass on the skills they learned to other volunteers in their neighbourhood zones.

For more information on volunteering, please contact:

Jeremy Calder
Assistant Chief | Fire Prevention

604-925-7392
Email