BOTWOOD - Wildfire community hazard and risk assessment By Sophie Guilbault

BOTWOOD Wildfire community hazard and risk assessment By Sophie Guilbault Source: Town of Botwood Facebook Page 32 THE SCIENCE Before implementing comprehensive wildfire risk reduction strategies in municipalities, it is important to understand the hazard and the areas of vulnerability inside and around the community. [...] The Town decided to launch work toward FireSmart recognition for the community and invited the organization to conduct a thorough Community Hazard and Risk Assessment to identify which areas were more vulnerable and required attention. [...] The assessment was completed and came to the conclusion that while the community had many low-risk areas, there were several opportunities to conduct mitigation measures in higher risk portions of the municipality. [...] Following the Hazard and Risk Assessment, the community, with the support of FireSmart Canada, then proceeded to develop a roadmap to complete the 33 Figure 8: The Town of Botwood invested a lot of time raising community awareness around FireSmart strategies that can be used to reduce wildfire risk in the community. [...] THE OUTCOME Upon completion of the assessment, the analysis as well as a roadmap to complete the recommended mitigation measures and raise awareness about wildfire risk within the local population was presented to the Town.