Wawanesa Insurance is awarding more than $150,000 in community wildfire prevention grants to 12 grassroots organizations across Canada, backing local efforts to reduce the risk of wildfire-related loss and damage.

The funding is part of Wawanesa’s Climate Champions program, which commits $2 million annually to projects that address the impacts of climate change.

This year’s grants will support a range of mitigation measures, including a mobile wildfire fuel clean-up unit, installation of campfire spark screens, and vegetation management such as clearing brush and overgrowth.

“With wildfires becoming an ever-growing threat across the country, resilience is key to safeguarding homes, farms, and businesses,” said Jackie De Pape Hornick, director of communications & community impact at Wawanesa. “We’re proud to partner with these local organizations, helping them to take proactive steps to make the places they live and work safer.”

Now in its third year, the community wildfire prevention grant program was developed in partnership with FireSmart Canada and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR).

“Community involvement is the cornerstone of implementing FireSmart principles,” said Lisa Walker, director of resiliency and partnerships at the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which operates FireSmart Canada. “Actions taken at both the individual and community level will help reduce wildland fire risk for yourself, your family, and your neighbours. No task is too large when communities work together to reduce their shared wildland fire risk.”

Meanwhile, Paul Kovacs, executive director of ICLR, said the scale of recent wildfire losses underscores the need for targeted, community-based prevention work.

“Last year saw the loss of about one-third of the town of Jasper in an aggressive, fast-moving wildfire,” Kovacs said. “Many Canadian communities that are at risk of a similar fate are small and have few resources to be able to address the risk effectively. Wawanesa’s Community Wildfire Prevention Grants has helped many of these communities over the last three years deal with this risk by helping to fund key fire mitigation projects.”

Last year, Wawanesa Insurance also provided $150,000 in Community Wildfire Prevention Grants to support wildfire risk reduction initiatives across the country. The grant provided $15,000 each to 10 selected organizations working on local wildfire prevention projects.