As wildfire season nears, West Kelowna faces growing challenges with wildfire mitigation on private lands. Despite notable progress in public areas, private property efforts continue to stall, raising concerns among city officials.
On May 20, West Kelowna council received an update from the fire chief and parks department about the city’s wildfire mitigation achievements in 2024. Successes include renewing FireSmart Neighbourhood Recognition for places like Starlight Crescent, distributing debris disposal bins across neighborhoods, and completing field mitigation work in Crystal Springs and Brookhaven.
This year, the city is pushing new measures. These include prioritizing home assessments based on wildfire risk and removing cedar hedges in high-risk areas. These efforts aim to reduce fire danger throughout the community.
Despite this progress, the city struggles to address mitigation on private lands, which remains a major hurdle. Fire Chief Jason Brolund acknowledged the difficulty of engaging private landowners to take proactive steps.
“The work around West Kelowna and West Bank First Nations has been successful, but lobbying private landowners to act is still a challenge,” said Chief Brolund, responding to Councillor de Jong’s question on private property efforts.
One key issue is cost. Fire mitigation, especially debris removal, can be expensive. The city receives funding primarily for public lands, with only limited resources available for private properties.
Private landowners can apply for grants up to $1,000 to help with debris cleanup. However, this amount often does not cover the full costs, especially for larger properties. In some areas, timber is sold to mills to offset expenses, but West Kelowna’s mostly pinewood timber is less valuable commercially, making this approach less practical.
To bridge the funding gap, West Kelowna council plans to lobby the provincial government for dedicated funds aimed at private land wildfire mitigation. The proposal includes creating a public education and communication program run by West Kelowna Fire Rescue. This program would follow current industry standards and focus on private land risks and prevention.
The city will also seek funding opportunities from provincial and federal sources to give private landowners more resources to manage their property safely.
Councillor de Jong stressed the need to support staff in lobbying efforts. “It’s important to help larger landowners step forward and do fire mitigation work,” de Jong said.
With wildfire risks rising due to climate change, addressing these private land challenges is critical to protecting West Kelowna’s residents and natural environment.
