Ecosystem restoration burn                                                    photo courtesy BC Wildfire Mgmt Branch

Williams Lake, BC – A planned burn will be underway from now until the beginning of May to restore native grassland ecosystems to 120-hectares, west of Williams Lake.

Weather conditions permitting, the burn around Bald Mountain, south of Riske Creek is a joint project involving the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations’ Range Branch and staff from the BC Wildfire Management Branch’s Cariboo Fire Centre.

Fire Information Officer, Olivia Pojar, says grasslands in the Cariboo-Chilcotin were historically renewed through frequent, low-intensity ground fires and their re-introduction is intended to restore and maintain traditional grassland plant communities that are native to the area.

Pojar says managed fires also reduce the amount of combustible material in an area, thereby decreasing the risk of catastrophic wildfires.