As wildfire season approaches, one recurring issue continues to stall progress in West Kelowna – fire mitigation on private lands.
On May 20, the fire chief along with the parks department provided the West Kelowna council with an update on the city’s fire mitigation efforts following the successes of wildfire mitigation in 2024. These included renewing FireSmart Neighbourhood Recognition for areas such as Starlight Crescent, providing debris disposal bins in neighbourhoods across the city, and carrying out field mitigation work in Crystal Springs and Brookhaven.
This year, additional initiatives—such as prioritized home assessments based on risk level and cedar hedge removal—are already underway, targeting high-risk areas throughout the community.
Despite the significant progress of the fire mitigation program, addressing mitigation on private land remains a major unresolved issue.
De Jong remarked that the current fire mitigation work around the West Kelowna and West Bank First Nations has been successful but, “Lobbying the private landowners to be a bit more proactive” remained difficult.
“It continues to be a challenge for us,” Fire Chief Jason Brolund said in response to a question from Councillor de Jong regarding efforts to engage private landowners.
Chief Brolund explained that fire mitigation, particularly debris removal, can be costly. While the city receives funding for these efforts, the majority is earmarked for public lands, with only limited amounts available for private properties.
Although landowners are eligible for grants of up to $1,000 to assist with debris removal, this amount often falls short—especially for larger parcels of land. In some communities, timber is sold to mills to help offset costs, but this solution is less viable in West Kelowna, where the predominant pinewood is not as commercially valuable.
To address the funding gap for private lands, West Kelowna council has made a proposal to lobby the provincial government for a dedicated funding stream specifically targeting private property mitigation. This would include the West Kelowna Fire Rescue establishing a comprehensive public education and communications program based on current industry standards, specifically targeted toward private lands. As well as pursuing funding opportunities with the provincial and federal governments to provide private landowners with resources for treating their land.
Councillor de Jong recognized the importance of “supporting staff in lobbying the province to help step forward larger landowners do fire mitigation work.”
