CASTLEGAR – To help reduce the risk of wildfires, the BC Wildfire Service is supporting BC Timber Sales in conducting a prescribed burn in the Kokanee Creek area. This burn is located approximately 19.8 kilometres northeast of Nelson and will cover up to 20.4 hectares.
The exact timing of this burn will depend on weather and site conditions, but it could begin as early as Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.
Smoke may impact residents near the burn area and may be visible from Nelson, Kokanee FSR, and to motorists travelling along Highway 3A.
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 include:
- Mimic naturally occurring mixed severity ground fire
- Reduce accumulations of dead wood and other combustible material
- Delay the growth of competing vegetation, and
- Decrease the risk of future catastrophic wildfires in the area
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 cell phone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air-quality advisories, visit: bcwildfire.ca.
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Contact:
Fire Information Officer
BC Wildfire Service – Southeast Fire Centre
250 318-7715
Mark Tallman, RPF (He/Him/His)
Practices Forester – Silviculture
BC Timber Sales Kootenay, Ministry of Forests
250 505-4511
Connect with the Province of B.C. at www.gov.bc.ca/connect