Saturday, September 28, 2024

Minutes of the March 2024 AGM

Minutes are also available for download here

Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association

Annual General Meeting

March 31, 2024

Meeting brought to order 1:06 pm

Minutes adopted from previous AGP held Sept 18, 2022. Moved by Bob and seconded by Cindy.

Financial Report:

Lac Le Juene Conservation Association 2022 Financial Report

Balance at 04/30/22

$2,637.34

$2,637.34

Revenue



Membership

190.00


Interest

30.98


TNRD Grants

4,150.00


GIC Mat Feb 923

2,659.62



7,030.60

$9,667.94

Expenses



Bank Charges

40.00


BC Society Annual Report

40.00


BC Lake Stewardship Society

50.00


Knotty Pine (FireSmart)

787.50


Hugh Burton (lake monitoring)

328.16


Bill Miller (FireSmart)

350.00




$1,595.66

Balance of 04/30/23


$8,072.28


In June, 2022, we received two cheques from the TNRD: $2,500 which was indicated as “Relief for Revenue Shortfalls” and $1,650 which was indicated as “FireSmart Committee Funding”.   Cindy had submitted a request to the TNRD for funding to cover the cost of parts for the water monitoring device and had made a verbal request to the TNRD area rep, Mike, for funding for insurance costs.    The GIC at TD had also matured and was now part of the funds available to us.

Treasurer’s report adopted, moved by Pat Burton and Seconded by Corinne Schock.

Yard waste and where to take it was discussed and Corinne will bring this up with the TNRD again.

We received a grant from the TNRD in the amount of $2,000 for improvements to the Gus Johnson trail.  We will seek input from the community as to where funds should be allocated but better trail markings and bridging the east end section of the lake are possibilities.

We will look at more involvement regarding FireSmart and more community involvement and having a community meeting in the spring.

Meeting adjourned 1:46 pm.

Prepared by Cindy Swain





Saturday, August 17, 2024

Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association AGM - September 29, 2024


Agenda

Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association 
Annual General Meeting

Sunday, September 29, 2024 at 10:30am 
Provincial Park Day Use Shelter


1. Adoption of minutes (Cindy)
2. Treasurer report (Cindy)
3. FireSmart summary & volunteer fire brigade (Clay)
4. Emergency secondary access (Clay or Corinne)
5. Community Forest (Bruce and guest speaker TBA)
6. Fire protection equipment for home owners (Scott)
7. Water monitoring project update (Hugh)
8. Gus Johnson funding (Cindy)
9. TNRD (Mike)
10. New Business
11. Elections



Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Minutes from the Lac Le Jeune Conservation Society Wildfire Planning Meeting

 Lac Le Jeune Conservation Society Wildfire Planning Meeting      


June 8, 2024                                                                  Start Time: 10:00 AM                


Location: Lac Le Jeune Campsite Amenity Building


Headcount: 24 people in attendance


  1. Wood Waste and Brush Drop Off: (Dean RedKnap). The owners of the Old Ski Hill property have agreed to allow controlled wood waste dumping in the old parking area.  This is for Lac Le Jeune residents (only).  Allowed materials include needles, wood chips, tree branches, small logs and other wood waste.  No permitted are stumps with dirt attached, garbage, plumbing fixtures, gyprock etc.  Access is controlled and through the locked gate.   Contact Clay Govett (250-819-4779) or Dean Redknap ( 250-819-1900) to gain entry.  Please try to unload your material onto the existing pile, or as near to it as possible.  The Society would like to thank Mr. Tetreau for allowing this, and FireSmart for providing a grant to cover costs.

-If you have wood waste but don’t have the capability to haul it to the site, Dean and   

             Clay are willing to assist with their equipment and expertise for fair reimbursement.

-If you would like to have ladder material and excess wood material removed from your 

             property Dean and Clay are trained tree fallers and arborists and have offered to assist,  

             again, for fair remuneration.


2.   Fire Crew/Brigade Training: (Dean RedKnap).  Dean has organized training for volunteers 

      interested in joining a Lac Le Jeune Coordinated Community Fire Brigade.  As of June 8 

      there were 14 people signed up for the two day training sessions.  The course will will be 

      offered June 22 and 23 at Lac Le Jeune Resort.  There is still room for more volunteers.  

      Contact Dean at the phone number above if you are interested. The volunteers will work 

      together to provide a rapid response to wildfire in our immediate area.  They will also be 

      available to sign on with WildfireBC as a ‘stat hire’ if needed.

- Corinne Shock asked if the volunteers would be required to own their own safety 

              equipment.  The answer was affirmative, so the Society will look at ways to access 

              funds to assist volunteers with purchasing PPE, fire protective clothing etc.


3.  FireSmarting Lac Le Jeune Private Property: (Dean/Clay).  Clay thanked the 14 volunteers willing to sign up for the Community Fire Brigade.  In interest of keeping our properties FireSmart he reminded us to:

-Ensure that our gutters are clear of leaves, needles and debris.

-Take care that your trees have ladder material (branches, needles) removed up to 3 

             meters from the ground.

-Vegetation (lawns, shrubs) should be kept trimmed through the summer months, 

             particularly within 10 meters of your home.

-If you are leaving home for a few days in the summer then put away your flammable 

             welcome mats, market umbrellas, and lawn chair cushions.

-If there is danger of a wildfire in our vicinity then move firewood away from your home, 

             or cover it with fireproof blankets.

Steve Banish stated that insurers are demanding that fire resistant materials be used in new construction.

Dean reminded residents of the Subdivision that there are no ‘fire hydrants’ in the area.  The standing pipes located by each residential lot are “flushing stands”, and they are not designed for providing water in the case of a wildfire.  If residents want to access water to assist in fire suppression, then they need to access water from the Lake, or nearby ponds by use of pumps, hoses etc.


- Pete Banman asked where we could access funding to assist in purchasing fire 

              suppression equipment, and what would the cost per home be for the necessary 

              pumps, hoses etc.   

-Corinne Shock mentioned that we could apply for grants form the TNRD.  

-Clay suggested that we re-look at generating lists of: equipment already on hand, and 

             what equipment would be useful for a typical property, and where it can be purchased.

-Chris Wingenbach of Little Lac Le Jeune requested that we (The Society?)  generate an 

             inventory list of fire suppression equipment we already have in the community.


4. Should We be Working to Become a FireSmart Community?

Clay stated that gaining a FireSmart Community designation is a lot of work, and the current outcomes are a $500 grant and a plaque.  

Gwen Hetherington, who works in Wildfire management, said that FireSmart Communities are given a higher priority when tough choices have to be made due to large numbers of fires in the Province.

Bruce Mitchell, former chair of the LLJ FireSmart committee, stated that our FireSmart Community Plan was rejected because the FireSmart program is now focused on designating individual neighborhoods as FireSmart,  not a distributed community like Lac Le Jeune.


5. Gwen Hetherington: Ministry of Forests:


Gwen has recently transferred to the Thompson River District (TRD) and is responsible for working with Wildfire BC in our area.  She is also a Lac Le Jeune resident. The TRD has a budget of 1.3 million dollars to cover an area from Kamloops to Clearwater.  A study by Foresite in 2020 identified 11 priority areas around, and in, Lac Le Jeune for spacing and ladder material removal.  Some of the priority areas may have marketable timber so the TRD has approached BC Timber Sales to see if there is interest in some harvesting.  The 11 areas include: blocks west of the old Ski Hill, a section along Gus Johnson Trail, areas north of Little Lac Le Jeune and a few blocks by Walloper Lk. 

-Steve Banish asked about whether we could access Gus Johnson for firewood 

             collection due to the massive amount of deadfall. 

- Gwen responded that the area is part of BC Parks so it is not a simple answer.  If 

              access was to be granted, it would be for a short time period.

-Corinne Shock added that the overgrown areas along our access road will be 

             addressed this summer.

-Jim Crawchuck asked Gwen to add the area north of the LLJ subdivision, and south of 

              the lake as a priority.

-Perry Wingenbach requested that the area west of Little Lac Le Jeune be added as 

             another priority.  

-Gwen responded that wood removal on the Guichon Creek watershed (Meadow Creek) 

             is restricted due to a diminished water table.

-Tania Koester asked about removing deadfall between her home and Little LLJ.  

-Gwen responded that activity in the riparian area adjacent to the lake is not permitted.  

             Removal of deadfall in non-riparian zones is permitted only with a firewood licence.


Meeting adjourned at 11:30


Minutes recorded by Bruce Mitchell, vice chair LLJ Conservation Society

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Preparing for Wildfire Season


We're gathering to talk about wildfire season preparation. Refreshments will be provided.

Lac Le Jeune Provincial Campground Day Area Shelter
June 8, 10:00am

Topics

Clay Govett & Dean Redknap - Dumping at the ski hill of wood waste
Dean Redknap- Upcoming training to create a local fire crew or brigade.
Clay Govett & Dean Redknap- General awareness of what property owners can do to help protect their property
Clay Govett & Dean Redknap- Interest in purchasing additional gear to supply our own fire protection equipment
Gwen Hetherington- update from BC Wildfire Protection Services
Local Firesmart- TBA

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Provincial State of Emergency & Travel Restrictions

https://news.gov.bc.ca/29391

Provincial State of Emergency: https://news.gov.bc.ca/29389

Emergency order frees up accommodation for evacuees, emergency personnel

To help ensure accommodation is available for critical-response personnel and the tens of thousands of people evacuated due to wildfires, the Province is restricting travel for the purpose of staying in temporary accommodation in several communities in the Okanagan.

“Our Province is facing the worst wildfire season in our history. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated and crews on the ground are battling to save people’s homes,” said Premier David Eby. “We’re grateful for everyone who has listened to our call to change plans and not travel in the central Interior and the southeast. But very large numbers of people are evacuated in the Okanagan and we especially need more accommodation there. This order will help ensure we have accommodation available for the people who need it in this time of crisis.”

The Province is introducing a new order under the provincial state of emergency. Under this order, effective today until end of day on Sept. 4, 2023, people may not stay in temporary accommodations for non-essential purposes in several communities. This includes hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, hostels, RV parks, and campgrounds.

This order applies to temporary accommodation in the following cities:

  • Kelowna-West Kelowna;
  • Kamloops;
  • Oliver;
  • Osoyoos;
  • Penticton; and
  • Vernon.

“We’re repeating our call for people to not travel to the central Interior and southeastern B.C. – and we need people to cancel any non-essential travel that takes up accommodation in communities in the Okanagan,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “This new order will ensure that accommodation is available for evacuees and critical-response personnel like firefighters and health-care workers. We are working closely with the BC Hotel Association to quickly secure accommodations as they become available and are grateful for the industry’s co-operation in supporting people in our communities.”

The order does not impact travel through to other regions, but the Province is calling on everyone to avoid non-essential travel to the central Interior and southeast to ensure roadways are kept clear for emergency-response operations, including further evacuations. People should check information from the BC Wildfire Service, EmergencyInfoBC and DriveBC before heading out.

Essential travel includes:

  • providing emergency or critical services;
  • travelling for health or medical reasons;
  • transporting essential goods and supplies;
  • attending court or complying with a court order;
  • attending a funeral service;
  • avoiding the risk of abuse or violence;
  • exercising parental responsibilities;
  • attending classes or training; and
  • exercising an Aboriginal or treaty right.

Friday, August 11, 2023

Recording of the August 10th meeting - Ross Moore Lake wildfire.

Here is the recording of the August 10th meeting held at the Lac Le Jeune Nature Resort regarding planned suppression activities for the Ross Moore wildfire.

 

This is the current information from BC Wildfire Service as of August 11, 2023 at 12:09pm  

Size: which is 7,249.1 hectares 

Stage of Control:
  • Wildfire Of Note - This wildfire is highly visible or poses a potential threat to public safety. 
  • Out of Control - A wildfire that is continuing to spread and is not responding to suppression efforts.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Notice: Public Meeting Regarding Planned Suppression Activities

 Notice: Lac Le Jeune Community Meeting

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD), in partnership with the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), will be hosting a public meeting for residents of Lac Le Jeune on the evening of Thursday, August 10, 2023.

As the main purpose of this meeting, BCWS staff will provide a presentation on upcoming planned suppression activities on the Ross Moore Lake wildfire, including planned ignitions on the southwest flank to eliminate fuel from within the fire’s perimeter.

Staff from the BCWS and the TNRD Emergency Operations Centre will be in attendance and will be able to answer questions from residents.

When: Thursday, August 10, 2023, 6:30 pm

Where: Lac Le Jeune Nature Resort, 5665 Lac Le Jeune Rd

For residents who cannot attend in person, a link to attend the meeting virtually can be provided upon request. If you plan to attend virtually, please email eoccommunications@tnrd.ca. To reduce bandwidth on the livestream, residents who are attending virtually are asked to make sure that their camera is turned off. Please also make sure that your microphone is muted unless you are about to ask a question and are called upon.

For updates about wildfire activity, including the Ross Moore Lake Wildfire, please continue to visit the BC Wildfire Service Wildfires Map.

For more information on emergency notices within the TNRD, and to access the interactive Emergency Map, visit: tnrd.ca/emergency.


Contact:

Emergency Operations Centre
Thompson-Nicola Regional District
Tel.: 250-377-7188
emergency@tnrd.ca