An operational fuel treatment will be undertaken in various treatment units amounting to a 42.3 hectare area located southwest of D’Arcy, near the community of Devine. The planned treatment area for spring 2023 includes 8.0 hectares in the most northern portion of this unit (TU-D1A) accessed via the Spruce Creek FSR. The remainder of the treatment unit would be scheduled for the future (2023/2024). The Sea to Sky Natural Resource District recognizes this area as a priority wildfire risk reduction area.

The treatment includes a thinning-from-below approach (which consists of removing smaller diameter tree stems to favour the healthiest and most vigorous dominant and co-dominant trees) and removing excess ground fuels (smaller diameter tree branches on the ground) and ladder fuels by pruning tree branches of a certain height. This treatment aims to reduce wildfire occurrence, severity and spread, prevent wildfire from spreading to the tops of trees, and permit better access for crews responding to wildfires in this area. The works include thinning of smaller coniferous stems less than 17.5 cm diameter at breast height (dbh), pruning some tree branches and removing small dried up branches on the ground for wildfire prevention. This treatment is also intended to reduce the risk of potential ignitions from recreational users. Biodiversity and forest health considerations have been included in the treatments to maintain and enhance ecosystem values.

The end result of this treatment will be to create a shaded fuel break to help protect residents and their infrastructure along the Pemberton Portage Road (D’arcy/Devine/ Birkenhead area) and to prevent fire from moving towards the railway line. This treatment is part of a broader group of shaded fuel breaks that have either been treated already, or are part of planned future treatments. Workers will remove heavy undergrowth and prune lower branches on retained trees up to 3 metres and widen the spacing between the trees where possible by removing smaller stemmed conifers smaller than 17.5 cm dbh. The remaining material will be placed in piles no larger than 2 meters tall and 3 meters wide in locations that will not result in an increased fire risk. These piles will be burnt to reduce smoke impacts as per the Ministry of Environment Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation when conditions permit in the fall or spring.

Download or read the full flyer below for more information on this project.

For more information about this project, contact:
Sara Barker, A/Stewardship Officer
Sea to Sky District Office
101-42000 Loggers Lane Squamish, BC.
Email: FLNRO.SeaToSkyDistrict@gov.bc.ca or Telephone: 604-898-2100