Since there are no fire fighting services in the valley, we are initially on our own. Our primary role in dealing with a fire is as first responders, to action a fire while it is small and while BC forest services crews travel here (approximately 2 to 4 hours at best or even a day or two depending on fire season activity). Our standby volunteers are the only resource available to deal with a local fire, until BC Forest Services can get here. This is the critical time when things are small and containable.
Beyond the reason on the . To protect the Gun Lake area from wildfire, and your property. Beyond that to assist in any way (big or small). To have local residents trained here at Gun Lake to deal with small fires, to learn fire prevention skills, to learn how to operate our local equipment. And to add weight to Gun Lake's voice with the SLRD and BC Government.
That is totally up to you. You can be just a member of the society, to lend support to our voice with the SLRD and BC Government. You can spend a few hours being trained, so in the event of a fire incident at Gun Lake, you can assist in containing and/or extinguishing it. You can be a standby person on call to assist (generally has no impact on your life). Again the participation level is totally up to you. But in the event of a local fire, you CAN ONLY HELP IF YOUR ARE TRAINED! - No EXCEPTIONS
As a GLF member training is free and requires a few hours of your time. Training is scheduled during late spring and summer when training resources are available. Location of training is all local, generally at the Community Center or Fire Hall.
Well 2017 was a disastrious year for BC and Canada. 2018, 2019 and 2021 were disastrious as well. 2021 with the heat dome and the Wildfires was another disastrious year. This pattern appears to be continuing. The lake ice is another indication that our seasons are getting warmer, freezes later and melts earlier. Whether or not you believe in Climate Change, over the pass few years we have seen a dryer overall climate and huge fire impact, Fort McMurrary for example.
The brief video shows the over the next 30 years dryer and dryer conditions will prevail.
Although the forecast focus is the American southwest based, the dryer forecast areas extend into the southern portion of British Columbia and the Canadian Praries which includes Gun Lake. Leading to more summer like 2017-19, and 2021-22. Look at the fire rating activity charts on the home page to see how the danger is increasing year to year.
In the 1970's you could drive you truck on a frozen Gun Lake, would you risk it now?