Upcoming prescribed burns planned in the Cariboo-Chilcotin

Courtesy of the BC Wildfire Service:

BC Wildfire Service crews will be assisting with two ecosystem restoration burns in the Cariboo Fire Centre this week.

Firefighters from the Cariboo Fire Centre will carefully monitor these fires at all times.

Echo Mountain:

* Alkali Resource Management Ltd. and the Esk'etemc First Nation, with the assistance of the BC Wildfire Service, are planning to conduct a 53-hectare prescribed burn in the Echo Mountain area, about nine kilometres southwest of Alkali Lake.

* This prescribed burn could start as early as Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, but the decision on when to proceed will depend on weather and site conditions.

* Smoke from this controlled fire may be visible from nearby communities.

Crows Bar:

* The ministry is planning to conduct a 500-hectare prescribed burn in the Crows Bar area between Canoe Creek and the Big Bar ferry on the east side of the Fraser River.

* This prescribed burn is expected to be ignited between Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 2018, but the decision on when to proceed will depend on weather and site conditions.

* Smoke from this controlled fire may be visible from nearby communities.

A prescribed burn is an intentionally ignited fire that is planned and managed by a certified "burn boss." The burn boss is responsible for ensuring initial burn conditions are favourable and the fire is fully extinguished once the prescribed burn is completed.

These two burns will only proceed if site, weather and venting conditions are suitable. All prescribed burns must comply with the Environment Management Act and the Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation. This helps minimize the amount of smoke generated.

These two prescribed burns are supported by the ministry's Ecosystem Restoration Program and will help restore native grasslands in these areas. Historically, grasslands in the Cariboo-Chilcotin were renewed through frequent, low-intensity ground fires. Such fires prevented tree encroachment, rejuvenated understory plants and helped maintain more open grasslands and forests with large trees. The reintroduction of managed, low-intensity ground fires to these grasslands is intended to restore and maintain grassland plant communities native to these areas.

These types of planned fires also reduce accumulations of flammable material (fuel management), which will help decrease the risk of significant wildfires in these areas in future.

These two prescribed burns are part of an ongoing ecosystem restoration program administered by the provincial government through the Cariboo-Chilcotin Ecosystem Restoration Committee, in consultation with First Nations, local ranchers, forest licensees, outdoors organizations, the Fraser Basin Council, the B.C. Wildlife Federation and the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society.

Learn More:

A factsheet about prescribed burns and ecosystem restoration burns is available online: http://ow.ly/7RXg304vw2Z

To learn more about the Cariboo-Chilcotin Ecosystem Restoration Committee, visit: www.ccerc.net