The City of Nelson has been granted over $100, 000 to help prepare for wildfires and other types of emergencies.
The funds are from the Columbia Basin Trust’s wildfire mitigation grants program and were announced this week. Fire Chief Len McCharles says they will help develop a mass alert system for Nelson that should be in place by May.
He says it will also inform residents of developing emergency situations, whether those turn into a serious issue or not.
Chief McCharles says the City’s emergency operations centre is another priority. City staff will be trained in emergency operations situations and the emergency response centre will receive some upgrades. He says there’s other situations besides a wildfire the City’s emergency operations centre could respond to, for example, a hazardous materials release. The City is planning a community awareness and outreach campaign for those situations, as well.
The Fire Smart assessment program for homeowners will continue this summer, in conjunction with the Regional District of Central Kootenay, thanks for the CBT’s funding. Chief McCharles is happy to see so much uptake.
Lastly, Chief McCharles says although the City has plans in place for an evacuation, they may need to be revisited.
In total, the CBT is funding 28 projects across the basin for over $822,000.
