Westside residents offered grants to protect homes from wildfire

Photo: City of West Kelowna

The City of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation is offering residents grant money to home owners who are taking steps to protect their homes from wildfire.

“FireSmart properties and neighbourhoods enable firefighters to deploy more of their resources directly towards wildfire response, which ultimately saves lives and homes,” says West Kelowna Fire Rescue Chief Jason Brolund.

“Actions that Westside residents take within 10 metres of their homes will have the biggest impacts in reducing the threat of wildfire.”

Brolund says fire smart solutions, supported by city grant funding, help homeowners eliminate hazards.

“We see many situations where quickly ignitable pine limbs should be pruned away to keep needles from dropping on cedar shake roofs, or where a tree should be removed entirely to create a fire break between a home and nearby forest,” says Brolund.

“Homeowners are also often unaware of fire hazards from cedar hedges. Although beautiful, and green on the outside, they are dry, dead and extremely combustible on the inside.”

Residents can apply online now for grants to help recover the costs of taking FireSmart actions by following these simple steps:

• Download, print and complete a free, self-directed assessment at westkelownacity.ca/firesmart
• Take photos before, conduct the eligible FireSmart work and take photos after
• Complete your grant application, including photos and receipts, and submit to West Kelowna Fire Rescue at [email protected] or call 778-797-3200 for assistance

Fire smart actions include:

• Installing non-combustible roofing and siding
• Cleaning eaves and installing gutter guards
• Keeping needles raked, moving bark mulch from around the house, keeping grass cut to less than 10 centimetres and properly pruning or removing hedges, shrubs and trees away from your house
• Moving firewood, fuel and propane tanks and other combustible materials 10 to 30 metres from your home