Premier David Eby Directs $40 Million to Expand Municipal Wildfire Firebreaks and Forest Thinning

VICTORIA, BC — Premier David Eby and Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma announced the release of $40 million from the Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) program, funding the construction of engineered municipal firebreaks and forest fuel thinning around 35 high-risk Interior and Vancouver Island communities.

Building Engineered Fire Guards to Protect Forest Communities

The funding packages provide direct grants to municipal councils, regional districts, and First Nations to clear 300-meter strategic fuel-break corridors, prune lower ladder tree branches, and clear deadwood within the wildland-urban interface (WUI) around Kelowna, Williams Lake, Campbell River, and Nelson. State modeling indicates proactive fuel thinning reduces wildfire flame lengths by 70%, allowing ground crews to safely defend residential subdivisions during catastrophic wildfire events.

Premier Eby affirmed that British Columbia must adapt to longer, more intense wildfire seasons, building permanent community defense buffers before fires start.

First Nations Emergency Services and Local Mayors Praise

First Nations emergency service coordinators praised the co-management structure, integrating traditional cultural burning and local firefighting crews into fire guard maintenance.

Interior municipal mayors commended the non-repayable capital grants for completing critical wildfire protection plans.

Heavy Equipment Mobilization

Forestry mastication and clearing equipment will mobilize across designated municipal fire guards in October 2026.