As we look at the wildland fires happening in BC, Alberta, NWT, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, we ‘knock on wood’ that we won’t follow suit in the Yukon. In March 2023, Administration advised Council that the Town of Faro’s Wildfire Protection Plan was drafted in the year 2000, and more than a few things have changed in the last 23 years.  We contacted the Wildland Fire Management Branch, and they were in the awkward situation of being overbooked with projects and understaffed.   To meet our needs, however, they proposed that they develop an agreement wherein they would transfer funds to the Town, and we would use those funds to issue a contract to update our 23 year-old Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

We contracted Ember Research Services Ltd to assist us.  Because they were currently completing plans for Mayo and Watson Lake, we agreed to start our work in July, with the goal to have the Town of Faro - Wildfire Protection Plan completed before the end of 2023.

As for Fire Smart work around Faro, work was postponed each of the previous 2 years because of a lack of worker applications.   Our Operations Manager, Mark Vainio, hopes that, by starting the Fire Smart program earlier in 2023, we will have greater success in recruiting so that people won’t have to work in the snow.

While the Town is FireSmarting the areas in and around Faro, we encourage all residents and property owners to FireSmart their own yards. Learn how to FireSmart your Home with Yukon's FireSmart Homeowner's Manual.