Grants
2024 FireSmart Community Funding & Supports
Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM)Description
The FireSmart Community Funding and Supports program provides funding to local governments and First Nations in BC to increase community resiliency by undertaking community-based FireSmart planning and activities that reduce the community’s risk from wildfire.
Eligibility
All First Nations (bands, Treaty First Nations, and Indigenous National Governments with authority for lands and resources) and local governments (municipalities and regional districts) in BC are eligible to apply.
Funding
New in 2023
Base Funding:
Eligible applicants can apply for 100% of the cost of eligible activities as follows:
- Eligible applicants with a higher risk of wildfire, generally demonstrated by WUI Risk Class 1 to 3, can apply for a maximum of $200,000 per year (for up to two years).
- Eligible applicants with a lower risk of wildfire, generally demonstrated by WUI Risk Class 4 and 5, can apply for maximum of $100,000 per year (for up to two years).
Additional Funding
There are two opportunities to apply for additional funding:
1. Applications from regional districts may exceed the base funding maximum in order to fund FireSmart activities only in one or more electoral areas. Refer to Section 4 for more information.
2. Applications that include eligible fuel management activities within First Nations land or publicly owned land within municipal boundaries or regional district parks and that include contiguous, logical treatment units that extend onto Provincial Crown Land may exceed the base funding maximum for only the fuel management activities on Provincial Crown Land.
In order to ensure transparency and accountability in the expenditure of public funds, all other financial contributions for eligible portions of the project must be declared and, depending on the total value, may decrease the value of the grant. This includes any other grant funding and any revenue (e.g. sale of forest products) that is generated from activities that are funded by the FireSmart Community Funding and Supports program.