Province promises $4.3M for wildfire preparation in coastal B.C.

The British Columbia government is sending $4.3 million in grants to 45 communities across coastal B.C. to help prevent wildfires as summer approaches.

The communities that are receiving funding are located within the B.C. Coastal Fire Centre jurisdiction, which includes all of Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, the Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast and Haida Gwaii.

According to the province, the Coastal Fire Centre covers the most "heavily populated area" of the province.

Some of the larger grants include $282,444 for the Capital Regional District, $286,888 for the Comox Valley Regional District, and $222,193 for the Fraser Valley Regional District.

The funding is being used for a variety of purposes, such as emergency planning, cross-training, interagency co-operation, and community education, according to the province.

"People in the Cowichan Valley want to know steps are being taken to avoid fires like we saw in Copper Canyon during last year’s fire season," said Doug Routley, Parliamentary Secretary for Forests and MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan.

"It is vital that we support communities so they can prepare and ensure people’s homes and lives are safeguarded," he said.

Across B.C., the province has approved $13 million in grants for 107 communities ahead of this year's wildfire season.