CASTLEGAR – To help reduce wildfire threats, the BC Wildfire Service will be supporting yaqan nu?kiy – Lower Kootenay Band, in conducting a prescribed burn. This burn will cover up to 9 hectares on Creston IR1 along Highway 21, about two kilometres south of Creston.

The exact timing of this burn will depend on weather and site conditions, but it could begin as early as Monday, March 18th, 2024.

Smoke may impact residents near the burn area and may be visible from Creston and surrounding communities, as well as people travelling along Highway 3 and Highway 21.

Burning will proceed if conditions are suitable to achieve objectives and allow for smoke dispersal, though smoke may linger in the following days, particularly the morning after burn operations. Despite all precautions to manage it, unintended smoke impacts are possible after any burn.

Key goals of this prescribed burn include:

• Reduce accumulations of dead wood and other combustible material
• Delay the growth of competing vegetation, and
• Reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in the area

This burn will also provide a training opportunity between the BC Wildfire Service, yaqan nu?kiy – Lower Kootenay Band, and the Creston Fire Rescue.

Fire is a normal and natural process in many of B.C.’s ecosystems. The BC Wildfire Service works 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. Learn more about prescribed burning online: prescribedfire.ca

To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air-quality advisories, visit: bcwildfire.ca

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Contact:
Victoria Dekker (Morgan)
Community Sustainability Planner
Victoria.Dekker@lowerkootenay.com
250 428-4428 ext. 3928

Fire Information Officer

BC Wildfire Service – Southeast Fire Centre
BCWS.SEFCInformationOfficer@gov.bc.ca
250 318-7715

Connect with the Province of B.C. at www.gov.bc.ca/connect