Setting Lake Cottage Owners Association

Setting Lake Cottage Owners Association (SLCOA) is pleased to announce it has received a $15,000 Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company Community Wildfire Prevention Grant to fund an initiative to help protect the Setting Lake cottage subdivision from wildfires. The Community Wildfire Prevention Grant Program, which was developed in partnership with FireSmart^TM Canada and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), is awarded annually to deserving projects.

This year’s grant recipients are from twelve communities across Canada, including Indigenous communities, rural municipalities, towns, residents’ associations, and local fire departments. The grants will fund a range of wildfire prevention activities, such as creating wildfire buffer zones around homes, public education, community wildfire protection plans, and more.

SLCOA will use its grant to offer a subsidy to cabin owners for the purchase of rooftop sprinkler systems. Rooftop sprinklers wet down a cabin or outbuilding and the surrounding area, making the building less likely to ignite as a result of flying sparks or embers or a nearby fire.

Setting Lake Fire Chief, Jeff Henry explained, “As we all know, wildfire can spread through the forest very quickly. Last summer’s wildfire season was the worst on record. There were close to $1 billion in wildfire insurance claims. The need for Setting Lake to improve its wildfire resiliency became more apparent than ever.”

“The unique challenges faced by a community like ours call for innovative approaches to wildfire mitigation and management. A rooftop sprinkler system is an important part of a multi-pronged approach that reduces the risk of losing your cabin or – worst case – the entire neighbourhood to wildfire. Our collective goal is to achieve herd immunity, to protect as many cabins as possible That’s why we’re offering a subsidy – to encourage every cabin owner to protect their property.”

Setting Lake Fire Department and Manitoba Wildfire Services will work together to conduct free FireSmart Property Assessments; provide recommendations to cabin owners on how to prevent the spread of fire and reduce property loss; and offer guidelines on how to configure, install, and operate their systems. Cabin owners may sign up for the assessment and subsidy programs at the firehall during Setting Lake’s Wildfire Protection Day event on Sunday, May 26.

SLCOA volunteers and MB Wildfire Services staff will spend Wildfire Community Preparedness Day felling trees and removing brush adjacent to the firehall to create a critically important FireSmart firebreak. They will also install a rooftop sprinkler system on the firehall to ensure the command centre remains operational during a wildfire event, so firefighters are able to respond to the emergency. Our board of directors is working with MB Wildfire Services to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan to address the threat of wildfires in our wildland/urban interface and Jeff is working with fire departments in Wabowden and Paint Lake to establish a Mutual Aid District.

“Supporting community wildfire prevention helps build a safer, more sustainable future for us all,” said Anna McCrindell, Wawanesa’s SVP & Chief Operating Officer, East. Wawanesa is honoured to support the efforts of these communities and will continuing to help Canadians reduce their wildfire risk.”