A 150-hectare ecosystem restoration burn will take place in the Van Houten Creek area soon.
The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is supporting the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program section of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development by conducting the controlled burn.
The exact timing of the event relies on factors including weather and site conditions. But if conditions are optimal, it could begin as early as tomorrow, March 31st.
Smoke may be visible from Deer Park, Edgewood, and surrounding communities
The goals of this prescribed burn are to:
- enhance wildlife habitat, particularly for ungulates (e.g. deer and elk)
- return and maintain vegetation traditionally found in the area
- improve biodiversity at tree stand level, and
- reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in the area by reducing surface fuel loading
“Fire is a normal and natural process in many of B.C.’s ecosystems,” The BCWS said in a statement. “The BC Wildfire Service regularly with land managers to undertake fuel management activities (including the use of prescribed burns), to help achieve land management objectives, reduce the severity of future wildfires and increase ecosystem and wildfire resilience.”