North Cowichan will hire a wildfire specialist to support wildfire-protection planning in the municipality. At its meeting on Dec. 3, council voted to allocate $95,000 in North Cowichan’s budget for 2026 for the position from the Climate Action and Energy Plan’s reserve funds, and funding for the wildfire specialist will come from general taxation in following years. As well, council decided to allocate $115,000 in the 2026 budget for the creation of a Strategic North Cowichan Wildfire Plan, with the funding also coming from CAEP reserve funds. Council adopted a resolution establishing wildfire preparedness as a strategic priority in September, and the key actions identified and recommended by staff since then include strengthening the fire department’s wildfire-response capabilities, vegetation management, FireSmart education, evacuation planning, infrastructure standards, and community volunteer initiatives.