The wheels are in motion for more money and resources for the BC Wildfire Service to come next year.

The service is working on a package to send to Treasury Board, which it would expect to have approved by the B.C. government before the next fiscal year starts on April 1.

Assistant Deputy Forest Minister Eamon O’Donoghue says the extra money would help the province incentivize communities to do FireSmart initiatives.

“Including bringing in cattle grazing closer to communities, to keep down some of the dead grass. Removing fuels from the forests that are adjacent, to individuals FireSmart-ing their homes. So there’s a whole series of things there. Our submission to Treasury Board to try to seek resources is reflecting a lot of those elements,” O’Donoghue says.

“Certainly this summer was a wake-up call. We’re in the middle right now of drafting a Treasury Board submission, to look if we can increase the resources and budget to try to increase our programs around wildfire risk reduction and around FireSmart. Those elements that really helped in Logan Lake.”

Logan Lake survived the massive Tremont Creek wildfire this summer, as the blaze was able to become less intense when it got closer to homes. No structures were lost within the community while residents were evacuated for a full week.

In the weeks that followed, during a news conference in Logan Lake, Premier John Horgan promised wildfire mitigation would be a “key focus” in next year’s budget.