Thursday, October 14, 2021 – The District of Sooke is developing a FireSmart program thanks to funding from the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and their (UBCM) FireSmart Economic Recovery Fund grant.
Ashlene Aktarian joins the District from Emergency Management BC (EMBC), where she was working in the Emergency Support Services (ESS) Division as the Project Coordinator for the new Evacuee Registration and Assistance (ERA) tool, which is an online tool for registering displaced people during an emergency/significant event. She also brings previous experience with the BC Wildfire Service as a Fire Information Officer for various regions within the province to her new role with the District.
“FireSmart is about increasing community resiliency to wildfire. I am excited to bring my emergency program experience to the District in this role where we are building a FireSmart program for the community. To do so, I need to hear from the residents to better understand their interests and needs,” Aktarian talks about this first step in program development.
Residents can provide feedback through a short online form at letstalk.sooke.ca/firesmart until November 7, 2021.
Learn more:
- FireSmart Community Feedback Form
- District of Sooke FireSmart Information
- FireSmart BC
- FireSmart Canada
The UBCM FireSmart Economic Recovery Grant provides communities with $75,000 to support immediate job creation in order to build local wildfire resiliency and assist communities in recovering from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contact:
Christina Moog, Communications Coordinator
250.643.1634, ext. 678
cmoog@sooke.ca