LAC LA BICHE - Residents looking for a helping hand to 'fire-proof' their homes and properties in Lac La Biche County will likely see the local FireSmart program continuing for the sixth-straight year.
Lac La Biche County councillors fired up the grant application process earlier this month, requesting $50,000 in provincial funding to run the program again in 2025.
Made possible by the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, the funding helps the municipality and residents to "mitigate wildfire risk," says Lac La Biche County's grants and community funding coordinator Carl Kurppa.
The municipality has received a total of about $260,000 over the last six years to run the local FireSmart program that Kurppa says offers hazard assessments, public awareness, subsidized sprinkler systems and tree chipping services to area residents. The funding also allows for casual, seasonal workers to offer FireSmart programming.
In 2024, FireSmart staff conducted more than 150 property assessments and cut down and chipped trees at more than three-dozen properties. The program funding also offers eligible property owners up to $3,750 – to a maximum of 75 per cent of total costs – for eligible expenses in the Wildfire Mitigation Incentive Program.
The funding and resources are available to property owners in Lac La Biche County and neighbouring first nation and Métis communities.
"This program has been working extremely well within our community," said Plamondon area councillor Colette Borgun.
In some cases, a successful application to the FireSmart programs can also reduce insurance premiums for homeowners.
The Lac La Biche County Fire Smart program has been recognized several times over the years for providing one of the largest intakes of participants per capita across the province.
After another year where wildfires dominated the headlines around Alberta, Lac La Biche County's Regional Fire Chief John Kokotilo says the FireSmart program can not only save money and property, it can also save lives.
If this year's funding request is approved, the programming will start in the spring of 2025.