Meet Ember, the FireSmart Fox!

Ember lives in the forest next to a community she cares about – just like us Northerners.

Every day, Ember walks into town to help local people learn how to be FireSmart. Ember reminds us of the simple things everyone can do to reduce wildfire risk for ourselves, our friends, and families.

Have fun and learn with Ember

Here are some of Ember’s favourite activities. They’re great for kids, families, and schools.

Ember’s story

She makes for the perfect FireSmart messenger because of her unique characteristics, which include: alertness, adaptability, intelligence and community mindedness.

Why Ember?

Multiple studies have shown that visual aids are very useful in absorbing information.

While generations of Canadians are familiar with Smokey Bear (created by the U.S. Forest Service in 1944), there were several reasons for a changing of the guard.

We felt it was time for Canada to have its own voice regarding wildfire preparedness; everything about Ember was designed and developed by Canadians for Canadians.

Most importantly, Smokey Bear’s key message was about excluding wildfire. Ember’s is about living alongside it.

Decades of observation and study have taught us so much since Smokey jumped on the scene. Not just about how to prevent wildfire, but also how to manage it with prescribed burning, how to protect ourselves through action by homeowners and communities, and the cultural role of fire within Indigenous communities.

Ember takes these learnings to heart, and approaches wildfire preparedness from a modern lens – one which recognizes excluding fire is not possible, nor desirable, with a focus on community resilience. 

With Ember’s help, we hope to spread the word on how wildfire can be managed not just by wildfire managers, but by the whole of society through proactive action.

Use Ember in Your Marketing + Education

Here are Ember’s official images, graphics, messages, and how to use them in your materials.

• View and download: Ember’s poses for social media
• View and download: Guidelines for using Ember in your material and messages for poses (pages 6-18; third party content, English only)
• View and download: Official Ember images
• View and download: Ember Badges and Icons (great for stickers, buttons, and other material)

Questions?

Let us know – we’re ready to support you on your FireSmart journey.

Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Team

FireSmart_Intellifeu@gov.nt.ca

Forest Management Division

Environment and Climate Change

Government of the Northwest Territories