$500 grants available for West Kelowna homeowners to make properties fire smart

For the second year, West Kelowna will provide direct cash assistance to private property owners who undertake so-called ‘Fire Smart’ initiatives.

That cash comes in the form of a $500 grant for homeowners who lessen the potential risk of a wildfire sweeping onto their property.

Replacing combustible roofs and siding, cutting down cedar hedges, removing lower limbs from nearby trees and putting sprinklers on the outside of buildings are the kind of measures for which a homeowner might receive a $500 grant.

The City of West Kelowna and @westbankfn are dedicating $30,000 in funding to encourage residential property owners to protect their homes using FireSmart principles and initiatives.
To learn more about the program head to https://t.co/Ez1lvFpz5s. #GetFireSmart #FireSmartBC pic.twitter.com/JSixXywety

— City of West Kelowna (@WestKelownaCity) May 27, 2020

“I encourage residents of the City of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation to apply for this free grant money and use it to protect their homes,” said West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund.

“We see many situations where easily ignitable pine limbs need to be pruned away because they drop needles onto cedar shake roofs, or where a tree needs to be removed entirely because no fire break exists between a home and the nearby forested area. Homeowners are also often unaware of the fire hazards that cedar hedges pose. These beautiful, green rows are actually dry, dead and extremely combustible on the inside. FireSmart solutions combined with City grant funding can help homeowners safely resolve these and other hazards.”

A total of $30,000 is proposed to be spent this year on new “innovative, out-of-the-box” measures aimed at reducing the risk of wildfires spreading onto private properties.