Penticton man launches business to help Okanagan homeowners FireSmart properties
Justin Zimmerman, who helped during the 2026 Summerland wildfire, now offers services to implement FireSmart recommendations.
PENTICTON — A Penticton man who rushed to help during a devastating 2026 wildfire has started a business to help Okanagan residents physically implement FireSmart property recommendations.
Justin Zimmerman opened Okanagan Wildfire Mitigation in June, offering services from gutter cleaning to tree removal to create safer zones around homes.
"You see the tragedies that happen in places like Summerland or the devastating McDougall Creek fire in West Kelowna three years ago or all the others we’ve had recently," said Zimmerman, "and we can all see the increased risk across Okanagan and the whole province."
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He was drawn to the area during the Summerland fire on August 7, 2026, a day the region will not soon forget.
The wildfire sparked near a remote campground west of town and within four hours had scorched a path through 15 kilometers of forest to threaten downtown Summerland, eradicating the village of Faulder and destroying numerous homes.
Zimmerman traveled there to help relocate his grandparent's classic vehicles from the evacuation zone to Kaleden.
"After we did the cars, I went to Victoria Road (a half kilometer from the fire's ultimate eastern edge) to lend a hand," explained Zimmerman. "Just did some minor things. One person was looking for her cat, I helped someone else load stuff into their truck."
He said he always feels the need to help in emergencies.
Zimmerman said the idea behind his business is to help people, particularly seniors or those not physically able, enact the free assessments provided by FireSmart program representatives.
"If there's a practical improvement we can make to help create a safer, more resilient property from a FireSmart perspective, we'll find a way to help," he said.
Services include cleaning gutters, removing debris, limbing trees, removing needles and combustibles, cleaning out old junk piles, and replacing wood patios or cedar fences.
Zimmerman said he has completed everything available to the public, including courses on wildfire risk mitigation, FireSmart landscaping, and one for local FireSmart representatives.
He emphasized that FireSmarting is not about clear-cutting but managing risk in zones around a structure.
"Most important is the 'Immediate Zone,' from zero to 1.5 meters from your structure," he said. "And there are zones beyond that. Like the 'Intermediate Zone' out to ten meters and the 'Extended' out to 30."
He pointed to FireSmart BC data that states burning embers are responsible for 90 percent of home ignitions during wildfires.
"On the first night of the 2023 West Kelowna fire," he said, "embers jumped more than two kilometers across Okanagan Lake to start new fires on the Kelowna side."
Zimmerman said when he started putting the business together in June, he was unaware of anyone else doing it, and a FireSmart contact told him there was no one providing this service, though he has since seen others appear.
He hopes more residents will act on FireSmart assessments as summers grow hotter and wildfires more common.
"FireSmarting is not about building a concrete house or cutting down every single tree," he said. "It's about reducing risks and creating a safe zone."
More information is available at okanaganwildfire.ca.
With files from Penticton Herald