After last year’s West Kiskatinaw fire forced the evacuation of town, council is looking at options to protect Tumbler Ridge from wildfires.
One option under consideration is having BC Wildfire Service perform controlled burns to reduce the amount of fuel around the town.
Also known as a prescribed fire, a controlled burn is a way of reducing the amount of fuel in an area.
According to the Province of BC, “fire is a natural, normal process for many ecosystems in BC and is necessary to maintain a healthy forest and the diversity of plant and animal life.”
Over the last hundred years or so, the province has aggressively suppressed wildfires, but this has resulted in a significant build-up of forest fuels. “This has both increased the risk of devastating wildfires and negatively impacted biodiversity and forest health,” says the province’s website.
The idea of controlled burns dates back thousands of years, and is known as “cultural burning.” Again, quoting the provincial website: “Indigenous cultural burning has existed since time immemorial, with traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation. In general, the term refers to the intentional use of fire at a broad scale on the land that is led by First Nations or is based in First Nations’ distinct cultural values, perspectives or practices. While the Province does not undertake cultural burning, the Province has a responsibility to address some of the barriers to cultural burning that exist. To achieve that, in line with its commitments in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the Province intends to work in partnership with Indigenous peoples to co-develop a policy and program framework for cultural and prescribed fire that aligns with the UN Declaration and provides the foundation for a sustainable, long-term and co-managed approach.”
In 2023, there were 23 prescribed burns, covering a total of 2,214.4 hectares. This year, there are 61 burns planned.
Fire Chief Dustin Curry met with Enrico Fionda, the Chief Wildfire Prevention Officer for the Prince George Fire Centre to discuss the idea of a controlled burn within the municipal boundaries. “[Fionda] stated that these types of activities are common in communities such as Tumbler Ridge and that they indeed could be completed as a means to prevent the ignition and transmission of wildfires,” says Curry. “However, considerable planning goes into these activities well in advance of any planned ignition event.”
He says planning can take up to a year depending on the scope of the project. “Any controlled burn event would be classified as a category 2, 3 or 4 open burns subject to the requirements/limitations under which the permit is pulled,” says Curry. “These types of open burning are subject to the prohibitions currently in effect at any given time. As such, many of these types of events are completed in the late fall and winter months.”
He says the most common types of controlled burns undertaken by local fire departments happen alongside roads and in open spaces such as fields. “Prescribed fire events that incorporate standing timber over large, forested areas are outside of the scope of training for municipal fire departments and require subject matter expertise from BC Wildfire personnel.
“In short, the BC Wildfire Service has recommended that the District of Tumbler Ridge identify a variety of potential areas which lay inside the municipal boundary and in consultation with the BC Wildfire Service, being the applications process so that they may be acted upon when condition permit. It is foreseeable that the identification of these potential areas will occur during the Community Wildfire Resiliency Planning process once a FireSmart Coordinator has been hired.”
That job posting is now closed and a coordinator should be announced shortly.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
