A series of prescribed burns are set to take place near Riske Creek over the next three weeks, in order to restore Cariboo-Chilcotin grasslands.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development plans to conduct a series of prescribed burns in the Doc English Lake Area (Becher Prairie) and on Saddlehorse Mountain (five kilometres south of Farwell Canyon).
The burns, conducted as part of ecosystem restoration efforts, are set to take place between April 23 and May 15.
The burn near the Doc English Lake area will take place south of Highway 20 near Cotton Road, and is set to be about 110 hectares in size. The Saddlehorse Mountain burn, which will take place about five kilometres south of the Farwell Canyon Bridge, is set to be about 45 hectares.
The burns will be administered by the ministry’s Ecosystem Restoration Program, with the assistance of the BC Wildfire Service.
The BC Wildfire Service is warning residents that the smoke may be visible from nearby communities.
Historically, grassland environments are maintained by wildfires, which prevent the encroachment of trees into the open spaces. Frequent, low-intensity ground fires would renew grasslands, rejuvenate understory plants and help maintain more open grasslands and forests with large trees.
“The reintroduction of managed, low-intensity ground fires to these grasslands is intended to restore and maintain traditional grassland plant communities that are native to these areas,” stated a ministry spokesperson, adding that the managed fires also reduce fuel loads decreasing the risk of “catastrophic” wildfires.
A ministry release said the burns will only be conducted when conditions are suitable and will allow for quick smoke dissipation, and fire crews will carefully monitor the fires at all times. A certified “burn boss” will plan and manage the fire, and will be responsible for ensuring that the conditions are favourable and the fires are extinguished once the burns are completed.
