By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle
The FireSmart program in Oliver is heating up and the town is seeking more grant funding as kindling to keep the momentum going.
Kai Kaplan, Oliver’s FireSmart coordinator updated town council on the program’s activities over the past year which has focused on laying a solid foundation of FireSmart awareness throughout the community.
The town is applying for up to $200,000 for each of the next two years through the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Community Resiliency Investment funding program’s FireSmart Community Funding & Supports stream to continue this work.
If successful this funding will go towards many initiatives including retaining the FireSmart coordinator role and adding hours for them to work also as a wildfire mitigation specialist.
The FireSmart coordinator role was first established in Oliver in 2023, and acts as a liaison between FireSmart BC and the Town of Oliver to bring FireSmart principles to the town.
Kaplan explained that “this year I was focused on public education and getting public awareness because that is the first step in the roadmap of developing a FireSmart community.”
They explained the numerous activities they have been engaged in over the past year, such as conducting FireSmart presentations throughout the community at places like Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary, Park Drive Church, the Oliver Seniors Center, and two workshops at the Oliver Library.
They had booths set up at the Oliver Farmers Market on Sundays, FireSmart Preparedness Day on May 22 in Oliver, the Roots and Fruits Festival and the Canada Day Breakfeast in Oliver.
Kaplan also noted the continued efforts to establish relationships with Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) and the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) regarding collaborative efforts on FireSmart initiatives in the area.
Now that a lot of foundational work has been completed in Oliver, Kaplan explained that next year they are moving towards conducting more at-home assessments.
Kaplan has completed the Wildfire Mitigation Specialist course and is in the process of completing all the steps to begin completing home assessments through the ).
The HPP is an online platform run through FireSmart Canada and it allows you to do a free assessment on the exterior of a property.
Kaplan explained that “any member of Oliver can apply. Once completed I will go to their home, do an external walk around the home with the homeowner and point out things that can be improved for fire resilience, such as roofing materials, or even just cleaning up some of the debris around the home.”
If successful the $200,000 per year grant will allow this work to continue, and there are plans to pursue more educational events, policy development, training and exercises around wildfire responses, assessments of critical infrastructure, assessing the water pressure of the town’s fire hydrants, and launching the HPP assessment and local rebate program.
At the end of the presentation, councillor Terry Schafer thanked Kaplan for their work around the community and explained that he has heard far more people talking about FireSmart in the town since the program was established in 2023.
For more information on FireSmart in Oliver contact Kaplan at [email protected] or visit oliver.ca/town-services/firesmart.
