Wildfire risk reduction project planned for Pinnel Road



WILLIAMS LAKE – Cariboo Chilcotin Forest District will be working in partnership with Xat’sull Development Corporation to perform a wildfire risk reduction project along Pinnel Road.

When and where

  • Work on this project will start as early as January 2026 and will continue until March 19, 2026
  • The project is located east of Pinnel Road and Mountain House Road and north of Xat’sull First Nation
Fuel management treatment map for Pinnel Road wildfire risk reduction project

What to expect:

  • Piles no larger than two metres by three metres will be created in the first phase of the project
  • The piles will be burned starting as early as January 2026
  • Crews will ignite piles using hand torches under favourable conditions and will closely monitor all fire activity
  • Burning may occur over multiple days, as weather and site conditions allow
  • Personnel will remain on-site each day to ensure fires are controlled and will only leave once the fires have safely burned down and no longer pose a risk of spreading
  • Fires will continue to be monitored and extinguished once burning is complete
  • Smoke and flames will be visible to surrounding communities as well as motorists on Highway 97

Objectives of this wildfire risk reduction project

  • Reduce the wildfire risk in an area near Xat’sull First Nation and surrounding residents
  • Strategically remove fuels, reducing the ability of wildfire to spread from ground to canopy and reducing overall intensity of a potential wildfire

The Ministry of Forests has completed several wildfire risk reduction projects throughout the Cariboo Chilcotin Natural Resource District.

Learn more

Fire is a natural process in many of B.C.’s ecosystems. We regularly work with land managers to undertake fuel management activities, including the use of prescribed burns and wildfire risk reduction projects, to help reduce the severity of future wildfires and related threats to communities.

As we get further into the cooler weather, you may see smoke in your area from open burning activities. Open burning can be expected to be seen from the fall through to the spring as the wildfire risk is lower. Overnight recoveries and relative humidities are higher and therefore, not conducive to fires burning or having a high risk of spreading, throughout this time of year.

Contact:

Shelly Harnden, RFT
Land and Resource Coordinator
Cariboo Chilcotin Natural Resource District
Phone: 250-706-6276
Email: Shelly.Harnden@gov.bc.ca

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

Online form now available for burn registration