Kimberley Fire Chief Will Booth was at the most recent meeting of City Council, discussing the 2025 Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan, but also advising Council that grant funding has been awarded through the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia (FESBC).
In December 2024, the City was encouraged to submit a last-minute application for a wildfire risk reduction project that aligned with the FESBC's 2025-2027 Wildfire Risk Reduction Funding Program intake. FESBC notified staff that the grant application was successful this April.
"It’s really good news," Booth said. "It seems that there’s more and more funding for wildfire risk reduction and as we do we’re going to continue to maximize all those grants that come available."
These funds will support a major project to help build a larger buffer against wildfires along Kimberley's western flank. It will involve thinning and slash piling and burning in six identified units within the Horse Barn Valley, or just south of it. The Fire Department has identified these units to help support the future development of a 140-hectare unit prescribed burn.
The three main goals of the project are to reduce active crown fire potential, reduce surface fire intensity and long-range spotting and increase wildfire resilience.
The attached document presented to Council talked on the impacts wildfire has had on Kimberley since it was first established in the late 19th century. In 1917 much of Kimberley was lost in a wildfire that started in the southwest area of the town and since then there have been more than 40 recorded wildfires that have either directly impacted or threatened properties in Kimberley.
"Kimberley lies upslope and downwind of where a "problem fire" is likely to originate, and the regular southwest-to-west winds that move through the St. Mary Valley suggest that the priority for aggressive fuel management should be the area to the southwest of the City," the document read. "The grant funding awarded through FESBC will further build Kimberley's resilience in the event of a potential wildfire from the City's western flanks."
Council unanimously approved amending years one and two of the 2025-2029 Five Year Financial Plan in order to include operating expenditures of $208,110 and $103,259 to offset the grant funding of $311,369 from FESBC.
At the same meeting, Council also approved the 2025 Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan. Booth explained this project has been in the works for a couple of years now, and it's being done because of funding requirement changes for any future grant applications to the FireSmart Community Funding and Support Program (FSCFS) announced by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) in 2023.
For any future projects, Booth explained, they need to hit three checkmarks: a FireSmart position, a Community FireSmar and Resiliency Committee and a Current Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (CWRP) or Community Wildfire Protection Plan that is acceptable to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS).
"Two of those we meet right now," Booth said. "And now the current community wildfire resiliency update and this will be checking that box as well too. So this will allow us to continue to apply for any future grant funding under that umbrella. Within the document it speaks to all seven disciplines of FireSmart, building out from just wildfire and fuels management in the old CWPPs.
"So now we’re looking at education, vegetation management, legislative and planning, emergency planning, development considerations, inter-agency cooperation, cross-training."
The full 2025 Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan document can be viewed under agenda attachments at kimberley.ca