Chipper Day! Wasa held its annual Chipper Day on October 11, 2023. Ten property-owners spent Thanksgiving weekend (and prior) trimming, pruning, and gathering woody debris in order to clean up and reduce the fire hazards around their homes. Regional District of East Kootenay and Kootenay Landscape offered the service of chipping and disposing of it all. Reducing the fire hazard around homes helps not only the homeowner, but also the entire neighbourhood and community.
May 13, 2023 Between 70-100 residents and visitors joined in on our Community Wildfire Preparedness Day for a free community barbecue and lots of chit chat about FireSmart. Everyone enjoyed free smokies and hot dogs cooked up by the Firesmart Board. It was a beautiful sunny day and lots of people were out and about and stopped in to say hi. Even Ember the Fox, the provincial Firesmart mascot dropped in for a visit and hugs for the kids!
Our big project over the next 18 months is the development of a FireSmart Demonstration Site on the corner of Wasa Lake Park Drive and School Road. We'll have a grand opening next spring when our interpretive signage is complete.
On May 7 2022 the volunteer work crew tackled the initial thinning and trimming of the Demonstration Site. They hauled the small trees and branches to the road side for the May 12 Chipper to chip and haul away. It was amazing what a difference a handful of keen workers can make in less than 2 hours!