Anarchist Mountain Community Society

By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle

The cool rainy spring may be deceiving but make no mistake, fire season is just around the corner and all the folks connected to FireSmart want every homeowner to think about how they can protect their home and their community.

For those unfamiliar, FireSmart is a program developed out of years of experience dealing with interface wildfires. Through guidelines and assessments, homeowners are aided in making strategic choices around their yards and with their structures aimed at increasing the wildfire resiliency of their property. 

“This event is really all about education,” Alex Giovannelli AMFD Deputy Fire Chief said. “Neighbours helping neighbours and trying to understand fire behaviour and what you can do to actually mitigate fire coming into our neighbourhood. The more that you can do personally on your own property it helps the entire neighbourhood so that’s what this whole forum is all about,” he said.

Last year’s devastating wildfires in B.C. are still fresh in most people’s minds and with the recognition that climate change will make this sort of event more commonplace all levels of government are eager to promote the FireSmart message. 

Speaking at the Anarchist event, Kerry Riess, FireSmart Coordinator for the RDOS highlighted the provincial government spent upwards of $550 million on wildfire suppression last fire season.

“So taking a small chunk of that and putting it towards educating people and communities can go a long way,” he said. 

This includes funding for public education events such as the one at Anarchist, as well as home-owner rebates with the Province offering limited rebates for up to $500 for mitigation work completed on a property.

“We saw that last year with Anarchist in the resilience of this community and it’s just amazing how everyone pitched in. We’re thankful nothing burned down last year, it’s quite a testament to the people that live here and work on the fire safe community committees and fire department.”

Future Anarchist Mountain Fire Department firefighter?

Indeed the AMFD is celebrating 10 years since it first formed its FireSmart committee and it and the community have come to be seen as leaders in wildfire resiliency and preparedness.  

Deputy Fire Chief, Alex Giovannelli commented on how rapidly the program is changing. “Fire smart is changing in the 10 years that we’ve been doing this, it’s been evolving and I’ve seen more changes within the last year than I have in the previous eight or nine,” he said. 

Part of this is being driven by the wildfires that California has been experiencing over the last 5-6 years, “they’re going to be coming up here as part of climate change,” he adds.

The increased emphasis on FireSmarting communities has seen the addition this year of the FireSmart Home Partners which is a voluntary property assessment program that helps residents identify specific actions and upgrades they can take on their property to reduce wildfire risks. This existed in the FireSmart program already but has been more tailored to individual homeowners for their property. 

Once a property owner meets all mitigation criteria and attends an online course, they will receive a “mitigation certificate” confirming that they met the FireSmart best practices on their property.

 The broader focus on neighbourhoods and communities remains under the general FireSmart umbrella.

Anarchist Mountain Fire Rescue Society

WILL YOU BE NOTIFIED IF THERE IS AN EMERGENCY? Voyent Alert! is a system used by RDOS & RDKB. As a resident, all you do is sign up and you will be notified by telephone, email, text or all three. We HIGHLY recommend you register. Get the Voyent Alert! app For email, text, or phone notifications, register here: https://register.voyent-alert.com More info visit: https://voyent-alert.com/ca/communityVoyent Alert! gives you a choice of notifications to receive – ranging from public hearings, change in garbage collection, to emergency alerts or evacuation notices.

ENPrep (Emergency Notification and Preparedness) also has a separate automated system used by the Anarchist Mountain Fire Department.Why two systems? This is in case AMFD issues an urgent local alert such as a closure of Highway 3 due to a hazardous material spill. ENPrep represents 10 areas on Anarchist Mountain each with one or two Area Leads who provide personal support to residents of a particular area. You likely have been in contact with your Area Lead, but message us if you have not. ENPrep and its AMFRS partners are committed to providing one-stop contact for information on safety and preparedness issues our community faces. Questions? Message us and we would be happy to connect you with your Area Lead or answer any questions.

Wapiti Pit Opening 2022

The Wapiti pit will be open for yard waste starting Saturday May 7^st

The hours of operation will be from 10.00am to 12.00pm

The pit is located on Wapiti Way. The driveway is the first road on your right.

We will be accepting burnable yard waste and branches. No construction debris or rocks.

Please check in at the gate. You will be asked for your address to keep track of the number of loads.  We will have fire smart brochures for anyone wanting to know the recommended fire smart practises.

Please line up on the right hand side of the drive to allow people to exit safely. When instructed to enter the pit please follow instructions of operators. Place materials as far as possible into the pit and unload onto the pile.

This year we are alternating between Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate everyone.

Hours of operation are from 10am to 12 pm.

Saturday May 7th^t                          

Saturday May 14th

Sunday May 22st

Saturday June 11th

Saturday June 25th

Sunday July 10th

Saturday July 23rd

Saturday Aug 6th

Sunday Aug 21^st

Saturday Sep 3^rd

Saturday Sep 17th

For sale 1935 fridge for sale $200.00 not sure if still works, must pick up.

Text 403-561-4679 for address.

For sale treadmill $200.00 must pick up. Was $2000.00 new.

Great working condition.

Text 403-561-4679 for address

For sale oak desk $50.00. Must pick up. 

Text 403-561-4679 for address

Brand new still in the box Subaru alloyed rims

17in X8.5 

bolt pattern 5x 114.3. Will deliver to Penticton or Grandforks 

$400.00

Text 403-561-4679 for address

AMCS is making an effort to recruit Directors from each neighbourhood cluster (streets) to recognize and represent all different areas/concerns/ideas on the mountain.

As we come out of our isolation of the last couple of years, there will be more opportunities for social events, fairs, workshops, lectures and all kinds of get-togethers. Come help us organize some fun!

Have some ideas? Have you signed up as an AMCS Member? Would you be interested in becoming a director? Board Members are informal volunteers who meet every other month in person or via Zoom depending on the world’s situation and we take the summers off.

If you are interested in taking part or have any questions about membership, becoming a director, etc. please email president@amcsbc.ca or webmaster@amcsbc.ca and join our team.

Anarchist Mountain Community Society, Board of Directors