By Cheryl Jahn

Wildfire mitigation underway north of town

Oct 8, 2020 | 3:47 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The BC Wildfire Service will be undertaking a large project in the Pilot Mountain area north of the city in a bid to reduce fuels that lead to forest fires.

“The first phase is going to be in the immediate area, the top of the tower, removing all of the hazardous trees and flammable shrubs,” explains David Clark with the BC Wildfire Service. “And then we’ll stepping out from that to the second phase and we’ll be doing some thinning of the forested area and pruning of the low-hanging branches as well as reducing woody debris and fuels on the first floor. If a forest fire does start there, it’ll step it down from a crown fire to a surface level fire.”

The work will be done over the course of three years and will tackle just over 13 hectares of land. The debris is caused by trees that have fallen over and are “laddering” against other trees, making it particularly challenges should a fire break out in those conditions.

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And the additional help with fuel management is welcome by the fire department.

“We do have some limited capabilities to deal with some wildland events. But, depending on the weather conditions, the topography, the fuel load, those are high-risk fires and we would actually call in additional resources,” says Chief Gil Lainey of the Pilot Mountian Volunteer Fire Department.

And the work over the three years will be noticeable by area residents.

“You might see a little bit of smoke. We’re going to be using smaller piles to burn. We’re going to allow them to cure so that they burn hotter so that it produces less smoke.”

The work was scheduled to get underway this week, but it was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. The hope now is to get on-site next week.