Cranbrook will be receiving over $362,000 for wildfire mitigation efforts this season to support two crucial initiatives that will help protect vital infrastructure.

Scott Driver, director of Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services, lauded the Columbia Basin Trust for providing the grant funding, which will be used for wildfire mitigation efforts at the Phillips Reservoir and the Canadian Rockies International Airport.

“These projects form part of our ongoing Wildfire Risk reduction activities meant to mitigate risks associated with high fuel loads on the landscape and their impact on communities and vital infrastructure,” Driver said. “I want to thank CBT for these grants that will allow us to further protect our residents and our assets from the risk of wildfire.”

Of the grant funding, $199,500 will be used to help further treat city-owned land near the Phillips Reservoir, thereby protecting the city’s primary drinking water, along with nearby residents and properties south of the Cranbrook.

That project will occur on both sides of the power line next to the reservoir, and will include mechanical harvest, thinning/hog fuel removal and prescribed fire to increase the wildfire resiliency of the property.

The second project received $162,900 for similar work on city-owned lands surrounding the Canadian Rockies International Airport (CRIA).

The work surrounding that project will include completion of thinning and burning activities on the airport’s west side.