Province launches $1.35-M program to help lodges, outfitters protect property from wildfires
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Travel Manitoba is offering subsidies to help lodge owners and outfitters prepare their properties for wildfires.
The $1.35-million Wildfire Resilience Assistance Program will pay eligible tourism operators up to 90 per cent of the cost of protection equipment and provide FireSmart training ahead of this year’s wildfire season.
The program will also provide access to more tailored assessments of individual businesses.
Each equipment protection kit will include sprinklers, hoses and a water pump and be compatible with Manitoba Wildfire Service standards.
A news release announcing the program put a value of $1.89 billion on the province’s tourism industry.
The program opened Thursday for expression of interest applications from lodges and operators most at risk from wildfires.
Melanie MacCarthy, president of the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association Board said in the release the organization supports any approach that will contribute to the long-term viability of the province’s “world-class” hunting and fishing industry.
Many of the organization’s members run small and medium family owned businesses that support rural and remote communities through increased revenue generation and job creation, MacCarthy said.
The program is the second bit of wildfire relief funding to come to businesses this week. On Wednesday the Red Cross announced it would be offering up to $2,000 to eligible small businesses directly impacted by the 2025 Manitoba wildfires.
Small businesses that were subject to a mandatory evacuation order for at least three days due to the fires on or after May 7 may be eligible for the funding, the Red Cross said in a news release.
To be eligible for the program, applicants must have a business number in Manitoba as of last April 1 and remain in good standing. Businesses must also have resumed operations or intend to resume operations following the wildfires.
Interested lodges and operators are asked to fill out the Travel Manitoba expression of interest form before noon on Feb. 17. Official applications are scheduled to open via Travel Manitoba’s industry website before the end of February.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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