FireSmart isn’t about stopping wildfire. It is about learning to live alongside it as a natural, important force in the environment – and building our homes and communities to better withstand the potential risks of wildfire.

FireSmart principles focus on what can be done to protect areas where wildfire damage is most likely to happen – where the forest meets our homes and communities.

The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)

The wildland urban interface is typically described as the area where human development meets or intermingles with the natural environment.

Over time, our communities and lifestyles increasingly extend further into forested areas and as such, we find interface communities all over Canada, in both remote rural locations and in urban centers.

When we live, work and play in WUI zones, we become more exposed to the danger of wildfire, but it is possible to live safely with this natural event.

Fuels in the WUI

WILDLAND FUELS

All vegetation (natural and cultivated)

BUILT FUELS

Man-made structures (buildings and infrastructure)

Wildland fuels and built fuels all have different burning characteristics. When combined, they create uniquely complex conditions that affect the ignition and spread of fire that are very different than the conditions created by an isolated structural or wildland fire. This is called the WUI fuel complex.

By understanding the complexities of these combined fuels, along with considering the topographic and weather conditions that affect the combustibility of these fuels, we can better appreciate the unique and often overwhelming challenges that a WUI fire presents, especially when it comes to suppression attempts.

The Home Ignition Zone

The Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) is the area within 30 metres of your home, cabin, or business.

When wildfire approaches, this is the area where fire activity is most likely to cause your home, cabin, or business to ignite.

Within this zone, there are three priority areas with specific guidance responding directly to preventing the threats from wildfires within the WUI.

Priority areas

• The Immediate Zone (0-1.5m from structures)
• Intermediate Zone (1.5-10m from structures)
• Extended Zone (10-30m from structures)

This specific guidance is geared towards preventing your home from igniting by cutting off paths for flames to spread to your home, and prevent embers from building up on your home.

Quick tips for making your place a FireSmart place: FireSmart Tips Poster

Goals in each area

The goals of each zone are:

• Extended Zone: Reducing wildfire intensity by reducing the amount of fuel available
• Intermediate Zone: Cutting off paths for flames or embers from reaching your home by removing anything that burns within the area.
• Immediate Zone: Creating an area with nothing that burns within 1.5 metres of the home – including using fire-resistant building materials – as the first line of defense against home ignition.

Get started with this guide for making your place a FireSmart Place: FireSmart Guide For Homes, Cabins, And Businesses

The Overlapping Zone

As many neighbourhoods across the territory are densely populated, it is very likely that properties will have extended, intermediate or even immediate zones that overlap.

When neighbours have overlapping zones, the areas where their properties meet share a heightened risk of ignition during a wildland fire and it is crucial that they work together to reduce risk.

Neighbours can enhance the resilience of their individual properties and the entire neighbourhood by working together to reduce risk and remove potential hazards in their overlapping zones.

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