Grants of up to $500 are available, on a first-come, first-serve basis, to City of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation property owners who take steps to protect their homes from wildfire using FireSmart principles.
“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.”
FireSmart 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.”