Castanet

A prescribed burn is planned today for an area on the west side of the Meldrum Creek Road, which is approximately 20 kilometres west of Williams Lake.

This burn is being conducted for ecosystem restoration purposes and will cover an area of approximately 160 hectares.
Residents in the immediate area will be notified of this burn, but smoke may be visible to residents in Williams Lake, Chimney Valley, Soda Creek, Meldrum and Riske Creek.

Controlled burns, such as this one, help reduce fuel loading, enhance habitat and prevent tree encroachment, ultimately helping to maintain traditional grassland areas.

Current fire danger rating at Riske Creek (area in question): EXTREME

a good proactive way to fight a problem that exists. its a common containment in fire areas.

Might be wise to do the burning when it is not an extreme fire condition?

not necessarily true. you can wait till you have a slave lake disaster......or you can be proactive and burn the fuel that will eventually bite you in the butt around you. we manage our forests to the point that it cant do what it has for 100's of thousands of years to manage itself. we wont let forest fires happen if we can help it and play god. and then we scratch our heads when it finally happens in a thundering fury. suddenly that little manageable fire seems pretty good. so if we prescribe burns and there is no fuel for the fires then that is good. keep in mind that forestry is keeping a close eye on conditions and whether there are flare ups as well.