Residents can expect smoky skies in some parts of Williams Lake today, April 20, as members from the Williams Lake Fire Department and the BC Wildfire Service are conducting controlled burns in the city.
Locations include at the Williams Lake Stampede Grounds and in Boitanio Park, said Erick Peterson, WLFD Chief.
“We’re burning some of the long grasses and [looking to] reduce the wildfire risk within Boitanio Park and the Stampede Grounds today,” Peterson said.
“All residents are asked to try to avoid the area and anticipate a little bit of smoke and a little bit of fire activity as we work to control this so we don’t end up having any uncontrolled fires in lake July and August.”
Peterson said this is the first time since 2017 the WLFD has worked alongside the BCWFS to conduct controlled burns in Boitanio Park.
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“If we do get called to something in the park we do tend to guide it along, but this is the first time since 2017 where we’ve actually worked with them to do something like this,” he said.
“It’s great for building relationships and learning and seeing how they do things.”
The work in Boitanio Park and at the Stampede Grounds is expected to be completed today, April 20, while the BCWFS is expected to conduct more controlled burns at Chimney Lake later in the week.
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