The new FireSmart Economic Recovery Fund was announced last week. Eligible applicants can now submit applications for up to $150,000. The intent of the FireSmart Economic Recovery Fund is to support immediate job creation in order to build local wildfire resiliency and assist communities in recovering from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project categories include:
• Job creation for FireSmart projects
• Job creation for longer term wildfire resiliency
• Skills development that leads to employment
Eligible applicants include local governments (municipalities or regional districts), First Nations (bands, Treaty First Nations and Indigenous National Governments with authority for lands and resources), legally incorporated society-run fire departments that are in good standing, and improvement Districts that operate a fire protection service.
To qualify for funding, applicants must demonstrate the extent to which proposed projects will support immediate job creation in order to build local wildfire resiliency and assist communities in recovering from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The application deadline is March 19, 2021.
The program is funded by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources Operations and Rural Development and is administered by UBCM. For more information, contact cri@ubcm.ca or 250-356-2947.