The Columbia Shuswap Regional District has been given a financial life-line to keep one of its key fire prevention programs going in the Shuswap and the rest of the CSRD.
The Regional District has been awarded a $1.1 million dollar grant through the Union of BC Municipalities for this year and next year to shore up the financial stability of the program, which the Regional District says is critical for the fire-prone region.
Deputy Regional Fire Chief Len Youden says the main thrust of their Fire Smart program is home owner and community education.
“We do that through our established home assessment, neighborhood wildfire hazard assessment process,” Youden told NL Newsday. “Through those recommendations, we can support the residents and community members by providing things like chippers, bins, covering the vegetation.”
Youden suggests this program is a critical component of their efforts to try to keep the the Shuswap and other areas of the CSRD from experiencing what happened last year, noting the threat of more major fires remains ever-present.
“As well as individual properties, combine that with low snowpack, not a lot of rain throughout the summer months, and even the last few years we’ve had limited rain in the spring, then that creates those more aggressive fire conditions,” noted Youden. “In terms of where we sit today in terms of overall risk, we’re still rated in that high risk category.”
The CSRD notes that during last year’s Bush Creek East Fire, many homes which underwent Fire Smarting managed to avoid destruction or damage.
“The CSRD’s Fire Smart program also supports entire neighborhoods taking steps to protect their properties through the Fire Smart Neighbourhood Recognition Program,” noted the Regional District. “The CSRD can assist neighborhoods with community clean-up or landscaping events. Eight neighborhoods in the CSRD have already achieved this designation.”