Plants To Avoid
Coniferous (needle) plants are extremely flammable because of their shaggy appearances, rough peeling barks, volatile internal resins and oils. They pose high danger to life and property when ignited by wildfire embers and should be avoided at all cost or kept as far as possible away from structures. |
Acacia, Bamboo, Broom, Chamise, Eucalyptus, Reed & Pampas Grasses, Gas Plant, |
Cedar Hedge Alternatives
Cedar hedges are grown just about anywhere in the world as they feature a number of positive attributes. They are easy to grow, create an almost instant privacy hedge and they are easy to maintain on a drip water system once established. The claim they need a lot of water is a myth. Cedars need just about as much or as little water as many other tall shrub plants intended for hedging.
There are however a number of undesirable negatives attributed to this and other coniferous hedging plants. Most evergreen conifers including deciduous evergreens are laden with oils and resins which make them extremely flammable. With today’s FireSmart practices in mind, coniferous plants in general should all be avoided in gardens and modern landscapes.
Cedar Hedge Planting in Vernon BC – Unlawfull Starting October 2024 New Bylaw
The BC FireSmart plant program features a guide about lower risk plants for hedges, privacy and screening that contains a lot of plants for a lot of places. Many suggested plants species are not everywhere available, or they aren’t heat tolerant or cold hardy enough to survive Okanagan winter cold snaps. Following are a few lesser known, tough plants worth considering as alternatives as they are also fire, deer and drought-resistant.
Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronarius) – A super fragrant deciduous ornamental hedging shrub with beautiful white flowers makes for an ideal summer privacy screen in backyards. A upright growth with stiff and woody branches featuring dark-green and oval leaves that can grow from 3 to 12 feet tall and wide, depending on the variety. Mock Orange requires full sun, well drained soil.
Forsythia, (genus Forsythia) – The brilliant yellow blooms early in the spring belong to the Forsythia, a member of the olive family. A cheerful backdrop commonly known for its long branches and an excellent privacy screen or center piece in urban settings. With proper watering, the Forsythia is a fast growing shrub that can reach up to 10 feet in height and width.
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) – Another local native is the Lilac shrub which is extremely easy to care for and can be pruned so that their dense leaves create a hedge with pink, purple, or white fragrant blooms in late spring and early summer. The size of Lilac ranges from 4 to 20 feet in height and width. Grown in full sun, Lilac requires fertile, well drained soil. It is hardy and can grow almost anywhere.
Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia) – The Saskatoon is a deciduous native shrub that grows from western Ontario to British Columbia and the Yukon. It can grow up to 30 feet tall, although typically its height ranges at 3 to 18 feet. Before it leaves out in the spring, clusters of small fragrant white flowers emerge which bloom for about a month. Saskatoon berries Edible to both humans and animals, the plant produces small, sweet berries, that ripen in early summer. The twigs and leaves of the Sakatoon if eaten in large quantities by animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep, can be a fatal poison.
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) – An attractive plant, the Ninebark is native to the eastern and central regions of North America. It is an upright arching shrub that grows up to about 10 feet and wide, depending on variety. They are well loved for their showy floral display of small white or pink blooms that appear in the late spring and early summer. Ninebark can grow in a variety of soil conditions and the plant is drought resistant once established.
Red Twigged Dogwood (Cornus servicea) – Red twig dogwoods are deciduous shrubs with variegated leaves in a deep green-gray colour with a white edge, making them especially pleasant on the eye. Their white flowers emerge during the springtime or in early summer, and are followed by equally charming white berries with blue undertones The characteristic red coloured bark makes these shrubs a wonderful focal point in any garden. Sizes vary according to the variety. Dwarf forms can reach just 2 feet tall and wide, while the largest varieties can be up to 15 feet tall and wide.
BC Emergency Info & Links
The experience of previous and current emergency events continues to show a disconnect of real-time information between government agencies, wildfire officials and citizens. Small communities often are not covered by regional news media which can make it difficult for some people to get updated information. To stay informed, a number of useful emergency links can be found on this page.
Alertable – Alertable website and phone app provides emergency alerts and mass notifications to keep you informed of emergencies and daily incidents in your community, workplace and school. Use Alertable for locations in Canada to stay aware.
| Real-Time Radio Frequency Monitoring BC Forestry Water Bombers: 164.040, 122.050,123.575 & 129.250 MHz BC Forestry Helicopters & Ground Crews: 164.145 & 164.910 MHz Salmon Arm Rap Attack: 164.265 MHz |
Worldwide Wildfire Info & Map Viewers
| BC Wildfire Map – BC Fire Bans & Restrictions Explore interactive maps and access up-to-date information on current wildfire activity, evacuation orders, and alerts in British Columbia. |
| Canada Fire Smoke Forecast |
| Emergency Map BC EmergencyMapBC is overseen by EmergencyInfoBC and serves as a general reference for current public safety conditions during emergencies. |
| GeaMap Worldwide Cartography Map Viewers Geamap offers high resolution interactive satellite fire maps produced by Fire Information for Resource Management System US/Canada (NASA/USFS FIRMS). Satellite information is collected, processed and quickly made available to the public within a few hours. |
| FIRMS US/Canada Fire Information for Resource Management System US/Canada provides near real-time active fire data from MODIS and VIIRS satellites to meet the needs of firefighters, scientists and users interested in monitoring fires with focus on US & Canada. |
Worldwide Weather Info & Map Viewers
| BC North Okanagan Weather Conditions and Forecast |
| Windy Weather radar, wind and waves forecast for kiters, surfers, paragliders, pilots, sailors and anyone else. Worldwide animated weather map with easy to use layers and precise spot forecast. |
| Zoom Earth Live Zoom Earth is an interactive weather map of the world. Track the development of storms, monitor wildfires and smoke and stay aware of the latest conditions by viewing satellite imagery in near real-time. |
Earth & Instant Street Interactive Viewers
| Instant Google Street View Instantly see a Google Street View of any supported location. Simply type an address or place name to instantly see it. |
| ShowMyStreet Enjoy a split screen of a Google topo map and instant Google Streets |
| Google Earth |
Misc. Info Viewers
| DriveBC Webcams |
| BC Ferry Services |
| Distance Calculator With the distance calculator distance.to you can easily determine distances between world-wide locations. |
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