Whereas the UBCM-administered FireSmart Community Funding and Supports FCFS program provides critical funding to First Nations and local governments to undertake FireSmart planning and activities that reduce community wildfire risk including staffing, mitigation operations, and consistent implementation of wildfire risk reduction measures year over year; And whereas UBCM has advised applicants that the FCFS intake was closed on January 30, 2026 due to lack of funding, and that the program transitioned to a competitive, adjudicated intake beginning February 2, 2026, creating uncertainty and reducing local governments ability to plan and sustain ongoing wildfire risk reduction capacity; And whereas communities throughout British Columbia rely on FCFS funding to deliver local wildfire risk reduction initiatives, and funding instability, reduction and uncertainty creates downstream impacts on program continuity, staffing retention, multi-year planning and undermines the continuity and effectiveness of local wildfire risk reduction efforts: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of British Columbia to reinstate stable, predictable, long-term funding for the UBCM FireSmart Community Funding and Supports program sufficient to support ongoing local FireSmart staffing and mitigation operations, and to ensure communities can plan and implement multi-year wildfire risk reduction initiatives.
