BELLA COOLA – New Democrat MLA for North Coast Jennifer Rice is welcoming over $177,000 to help people in the Central Coast be better prepared for wildfires.

“People in rural communities know the importance of being prepared for fire season,” said MLA Rice. “This funding will help people in our communities help each other through emergency planning, FireSmart programming, and education.”

In the Central Coast, the Nuxalk Nation is receiving $73,045 to help fund local wildfire education and planning. The Central Coast Regional District is receiving $104,028 to assist with wildfire planning.

The Nuxalk Nation and Central Coast Regional District are two of almost 90 local governments and First Nations throughout BC benefiting from almost $9 million in new provincial government grants to support wildfire risk reduction projects through the Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) program.

The CRI program helps reduce wildfire risks and impacts in BC communities by providing funding and support to complete FireSmart initiatives and fuel management activities. The program is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM). Since launching the CRI program in September 2018, the BC New Democrat government has invested more than $18.6 million to support 209 projects helping local governments and First Nations mitigate wildfire threats around their communities.

Learn More: https://news.gov.bc.ca/21721