West Kelowna to thin more trees
City makes $50K available to homes that reduce fire risks
Sixteen hectares of West Kelowna forests will be thinned next year as part of a fire mitigation project.
The largest area eyed for tree-thinning and underbrush clean-up, at six hectares, is Casa Palmero Park between the Casa Loma and Lakeview Heights neighbourhoods.
The city of West Kelowna will submit a $150,000 fire modification grant request to the provincial government, pending council’s expected approval at a meeting on Tuesday. Previous grants have been approved in full. One-third of the money expected next year would be used for 15.7 hectares of fuel modification projects in seven city parks.
One-third would be available in the form of rebates to homeowners who reduce the fire risk around their properties by paying contractors to do work such as removing cedar trees and cutting away lower limbs of pine trees.
Other undertakings eligible for a rebate, the maximum value of which to any property owner is $500, include replacing combustible roofs and siding, and installing sprinklers on the outside of buildings.
Forty-eight such grants for homeowners were awarded last year.
The ongoing project is described by Fire
Chief Jason Brolund as an “innovative, outof-the-box solution to encourage private property owners to improve the survivability of their homes in case of a wildfire.”
The other $50,000 would be spent on emer
gency planning, educational activities and staffing costs. In addition to the hoped-for provincial grant of $150,000, the municipality would contribute $100,000 toward the overall fuel modification program.