Kootenay indigenous and non-indigenous communities and regional districts will be receiving funding from the provincial government in the amount of $2,868,520.
These Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) grants are part of a total of more than $15 million provided to 118 recipients throughout B.C., following the latest application intake in the program’s FireSmart Community Funding and Supports category.
Grants approved to communities in the Southeast Fire Centre are:
* ʔAkisq̓nuk First Nation: $82,710 to assist with education, inter-agency co-operation, fuel management
* ʔAq̓am: $125,295 to assist with education, planning, inter-agency co-operation, fuel management
* Village of Canal Flats: $69,950 to assist with education, inter-agency co-operation, emergency planning, FireSmart for residential areas
* Regional District of Central Kootenay: $700,000 to assist with education, planning, development, inter-agency co-operation, FireSmart demo projects, FireSmart for residential areas
* City of Cranbrook: $150,000 to assist with education, inter-agency co-operation, emergency planning, FireSmart for residential areas, fuel management
* Regional District of East Kootenay: $441,535 to assist with education, inter-agency co-operation, emergency planning, cross-training, FireSmart for residential areas
* District of Elkford: $237,149 to assist with education, fuel management
* District of Invermere: $149,982 to assist with education, inter-agency co-operation, emergency planning, cross-training, FireSmart demo projects, FireSmart for residential areas
* Village of Kaslo: $101,400 to assist with education, planning, development, inter-agency co-operation, emergency planning, FireSmart for residential areas
* City of Kimberley: $150,000 to assist with education, FireSmart for residential areas, fuel management
* Village of Nakusp: $140,665 to assist with education, FireSmart for residential areas, fuel management
* City of Nelson: $146,986 to assist with education, inter-agency co-operation, FireSmart for residential areas, fuel management
* Village of Radium Hot Springs: $3,800 to assist with education, FireSmart for residential areas
* City of Rossland: $229,065 to assist with education, planning, inter-agency co-operation, FireSmart for residential areas, fuel management
* Village of Silverton: $139,982 to assist with education, inter-agency co-operation, cross-training, FireSmart for residential areas, fuel management
“Mitigating wildfire threats is crucial to help safeguard people, homes and businesses throughout the province,” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “Since the Community Resiliency Investment program was established in 2018, our government has approved 366 grants to local governments and First Nations totalling over $37 million.”
Funding provided through CRI’s FireSmart Community Funding and Supports category helps Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments reduce wildfire risks around their communities. Recipients can use the money for wildfire risk reduction and fire prevention activities related to the FireSmart program’s nine eligible funding areas:
• education
• vegetation management (reducing accumulations of flammable materials on the landscape)
• community planning
• development considerations (looking at ways that local governments could regulate development to incorporate FireSmart principles)
• inter-agency co-operation
• FireSmart training and cross-training
• emergency management planning
• FireSmart projects for critical infrastructure
• FireSmart activities for residential areas
READ: City of Kimberley applies for grant for FireSmart surface fuel work within city limits
READ: Is your home protected from a wildfire?
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