INFORMATION BULLETIN
For Immediate Release
April 9, 2021
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development
BC Wildfire Service
BURNS LAKE – The BC Wildfire Service plans to burn 50 piles of wood debris in the Burns Lake Community Forest over the next week. This will reduce forest fuels and help increase the likelihood of a successful prescribed fire planned for the area this year.
The burn is scheduled to begin April 9, 2021 and smoke will be visible from Burns Lake and the surrounding area.
The BC Wildfire Service and Burns Lake Community Forest implemented a prescribed fire project in 2020. This project is expected to commence later in the spring. Burning piles is continuation of work related to that project; however, only pile burning will be taking place in the coming days.
Burning will only occur if weather conditions are suitable and allow smoke to dissipate. Staff from the BC Wildfire Service will monitor these fires at all times.
For the prescribed fire project, the Burns Lake Community Forest has identified four prescribed fire units (PFUs) covering a total of 675 hectares, located south of Burns Lake on the west side of Highway 35.
The first PFU covers about 225 hectares and is located about five kilometres southwest of Burns Lake. The remaining PFUs will be lit in the fall of 2021 and into the spring of 2022:
- PFU #2 will cover about 150 hectares, about 10 kilometres southwest of Burns Lake.
- PFU #3 will cover about 190 hectares, about 8 kilometres southwest of Burns Lake.
- PFU #4 will cover about 110 hectares, about 3.5 kilometres southwest of Burns Lake.
Using prescribed fire in these areas will remove waste wood left behind after timber harvesting and reduce accumulations of forest fuels. In the event of a wildfire, this will result in less intense fire behaviour and make it easier and safer for firefighters to suppress the wildfire.
Additional benefits of these burns include: improving access for tree planters; and providing training opportunities for the planning and implementation of future prescribed fires and wildfire risk reduction projects.
More information about the use of prescribed fire is available online:
http://ow.ly/20Su50Ax89j
To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. For up-to-date information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, call 1 888 3-FOREST, download the new BC Wildfire Service app, or visit www.bcwildfire.ca.
Follow the latest wildfire news:
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo
Contact:
Carolyn Bartos
Fire Information Officer
BC Wildfire Service
Northwest Fire Centre
ac.cb.vog@reciffOnoitamrofnICFWN.SWCB 250 876-7138
