With forest fire season rapidly approaching, and lots of talk about mitigation and fire smart to protect homes in Nelson and the entire town, there’s an imminent danger in and around many homes and businesses in the Nelson area. Hazardous combustible waste! While there are plans for a permanent collection site, currently there is no place to drop off these highly flammable waste products.
I understand Salmo will have a drop-off location sometime in June or July. How many people will drive to Salmo, compared to how many people would drive locally or participate if there was an emergency drop-off location or pick up scheduled prior to forest fire season?
I’ve heard it would be expensive to set up an emergency/temporary collection system. I’m sure that is true. How expensive would it be if these waste products contributed to, or exacerbated a fire situation? This could be devastating for Nelson as we’ve been cited as a very high risk community for forest fires.
Perhaps a collection container could be set up on a temporary basis and that container could be dropped off in Salmo or somewhere.
Let’s do everything we could to lessen the danger to our town. At the moment, there is a strong likelihood that this could be a long forest fire season. This is something we can be proactive on and at least minimize our exposure.
Howie Ross
Nelson