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Fuel Management Pilot Project - Penticton Trails - March 20th - 24th


Fuel Management Pilot Project – FAQ March 20^th – 24^th Penticton Trails What Fuel management is a term used to describe the reduction of vegetative materials to mitigate fire hazards. Organic litter in the form of combustible ground materials, leaves or other organic debris, and dead branches all provide fuel that a wildfire needs to sustain itself and grow. Who The Powell River Regional Emergency Program and the Coastal Fire Centre are working together on this project. British Columbia Wildfire Service will perform the physical labour. Where Provincial Crown property commonly referred to as upper Penticton Trails (District Lot 6771) immediately outside the municipal boundary. The study area is approximately 800 metres of trail starting above Yew Kwum Place off the undeveloped Manson extension.
Why The Community Wildfire Protection Plan identified accumulations of forest fuels as a wildfire threat. Whenever communities are located close to forests there is a high risk of an urban interface fire. In the interface, structures and vegetation are sufficiently close that a wildfire may spread to structures or a structural fire may ignite trees and vegetation. The threat of these fires can be mitigated with basic Fire Smart practices in both the forest and private residential properties. This project builds and continues the work that was started in the adjacent trails last year. It will demonstrate to the public what wildfire hazard reduction can look like in our coastal forest setting. Education is a key component of reduce risk. It will create a real-life setting to educate on best practices for the mitigation of forest fuels when completing trail maintenance by local government staff, forest stakeholders and user groups in our community. Another important aspect is the opportunity to provide training for BC Wildfire Service staff during the off season. How Wildfire staff will remove flammable materials from the forest floor to reduce surface fuels (dry organics such as: dry undergrowth, leaves, debris); increase the distance between the ground and tree branches to reduce the risk of fire spreading from the ground to the trees (low hanging branches); and, thin to reduce the chance of fire spreading from tree to tree. The planned treatment emphasizes leaving all dominant and co-dominant trees and large coarse-woody debris in order to retain wildlife habitat. The debris will be collected in central piles for burning. Crews will not be removing any trees over 4 inches/10 cm in diameter unless they pose a safety hazard.
More Information Community Wildfire Protection Plan http://www.powellriverrd.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/PRRD-CWPP.pdf Home Owners FireSmart Manual http://www.powellriverrd.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/PRRD-CWPP.pdf BC Wildfire Services – Interface Fires http://bcwildfire.ca/faq/interface.htm

Event date:

Friday, March 10, 2017 - 2:15pm

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