BC Wildfire service going year-round to reduce risk

The B.C. government is spending nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to build up capacity in wildfire and emergency management over the next three years. Premier John Horgan made the commitment to expand the wildfire effort from a seasonal to year-round in the fall of 2021, after the province battled its third major wildfire season in four years. Finance Minister Selina Robinson put that promise into action with $243 million to expand capacity for wildfire and other emergency management response. That three-year commitment includes $400 million for Emergency Management B.C., to improve its flood and fire response and extend its work to debris removal and cleanup. …The three-year budget devotes $98 million to fund wildfire prevention work. Another $210 million is allocated to the community FireSmart program, the community emergency preparedness fund and community-level work to improve dikes, floodplain mapping and other risk-reduction activities.