The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations is continuing a controlled burn project in the Haylmore area of the Pemberton Fire Zone.

The controlled burns will take place between Wednesday, Sept.16 and will conclude by Friday, Oct. 30, 2015.

The 20-hectare controlled burn will take place approximately two kilometres east of D’arcy near Pemberton. The intent is to burn the forest understory while leaving larger trees intact, and restore the open forest conditions to reduce fire behaviour and enhance berry production. Smoke will be visible around the community of D’arcy, and the Devine area, and from the northern portion of the Pemberton Portage road.

The exact timing of the burns will depend on weather and site conditions. These burns will proceed only if fire behaviour conditions are suitable and will allow for quick smoke dissipation and low to moderate fire intensity.

Trained wildfire personnel will carefully monitor the fire at all times. Fire control and suppression actions will be taken to meet the objectives of the prescribed burn.

The goal of these burns is to mimic naturally occurring ground fires and reduce the level of dead and combustible material in grassland and open forest areas. Removal of these forest fuels helps reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires. Fire can also discourage insect infestations and help fire-adapted plant species reproduce, such as grasses that thrive in newly cleared areas or trees whose seeds are only released when exposed to heat.

For the latest information on fire activity, conditions and prohibitions, visit the BC Wildfire Service website at: www.bcwildfire.ca

The Coastal Fire Centre covers all of the area west of the height of land on the Coast Mountain Range north of the U.S.-Canada border at Manning Park, including Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park in the north, the Sunshine Coast, the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Haida Gwaii.

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