B.C. pledges $359M in new funding to fight wildfires

At the Langford fire hall, Chief Chris Aubrey has concerns heading into the dry summer months.

"It could still be a really active wildfire season," said Aubrey. "Obviously it hasn’t been that way so far, it has been cold and it has been wet."

Those conditions have meant the risk of wildfires in this province have been minimal, but he sees a potential problem on the horizon.

"What it’s done is allowed the fuels to grow for a longer period of time than they normally would," said the fire chief.

"The grasses are longer and the plants have grown much bigger because of the colder, wetter weather," he said.

Aubrey's concern is that if the weather suddenly shifts to hot and dry, fuel for wildfires could be in abundance.

WILDFIRE FUNDING

On Friday, the province announced $359 million in new funding for fighting wildfires in budget 2022.

"We have made the largest investment in the history of the B.C. Wildfire Service," said Katrina Conroy, B.C.'s Minister of Forests in a statement Friday.

"This includes $145 million that will help us transform the organization into a year-round service," she said.

The B.C. Wildfire Service will now transition its attack plan from a reactive model of fighting fires to a more proactive model of preventing fires.

Roughly $90 million in funding this year will go to the FireSmart program which provides tools and information to protect homes and communities from wildfires.

"Sometimes it’s very simple steps to make sure they are doing their part to help prevent wildfires," said Aubrey.

Through the FireSmart program, Langford Fire Rescue has hired a local FireSmart representative who does fire risk assessments on city property, as well home assessments.

Aubrey says there are things that you can do to keep your home safe.

That includes setting up a non-combustible priority zone around your home of at least one to three metres.

Another idea is to plant drought-resistant plants on your property.

So far this year, the province has seen approximately 140 wildfires. That’s only 60 per cent of the five-year average.

"We have staffed up and the crews are training, getting fit and healthy and learning all the new technology," said Dorthe Jakobsen, fire information officer at the Coastal Fire Centre in Parksville, B.C.

"We’re ready to go," she said.