Province of British Columbia has committed $147,200 to wildfire risk reduction projects within qathet Regional District (qRD).
According to a media release from qRD manager of emergency services Ryan Thoms, this year, $140,000 has been committed to an operational fuel treatment to mitigate wildfire concerns on 14 hectares of provincial crown land in the Penticton Trails area, stretching from the municipal boundary to behind the gun range and Augusta Recyclers. In addition, $7,200 has been committed to develop a wildfire mitigation prescription for Mount Pocahontas on Texada Island.
In 2019, the province announced up to $25 million in funding through the community resiliency investment (CRI) crown land wildfire risk reduction (WRR) program to increase resiliency to wildfire in communities across BC, according to Thoms. BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development will now take the lead in fuel management planning and treatment activities on provincial crown lands with the goal of protecting communities and critical infrastructure from damaging wildfires, stated Thoms.
“Community wildfire protection is a strategic priority for the qathet Regional District,” stated Thoms. “The qRD thanks the province for leading fire mitigation on provincial crown lands and for supporting local FireSmart initiatives that improve public safety throughout our region.”
For more information on provincial wildfire prevention efforts, go to www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/prevention/funding-for-wildfire-prevention/crip/wrr.
