The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and the Society for Ecosystem Restoration in North Central B.C. will be conducting a series of ecosystem restoration burns near Vanderhoof between April 4 and April 25, 2016, weather and site conditions permitting.

Trained BC Wildfire Service personnel will carefully monitor these fires at all times. Smoke from these controlled burns may be visible from the community of Vanderhoof and surrounding areas.

Barlow Forest Service Road, about 15 kilometres northwest of Vanderhoof:

• These prescribed burns will be conducted in three different locations along the Barlow Forest Service road, south of the Clearview Landfill site and west of Highway 27.
• Burn projects such as these help create landscape-level fuel breaks, reduce accumulations of forest fuels, mitigate the severity of future wildfires, and decrease wildfire risks for nearby communities.

Fire is a natural, normal process in many ecosystems and is beneficial for maintaining a healthy forest and a diversity of plant and animal life. Many plants and animals have adapted to fire and some actually depend on it to reproduce.

All prescribed burns must comply with the Environmental Management Act and the open burning smoke control regulation. This helps minimize the amount of smoke generated.

To report a wildfire or unattended campfire, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. For the latest information on current wildfire activity, burning restrictions, road closures and air quality advisories, visit http://www.bcwildfire.ca

You can follow the latest wildfire news on:

• Twitter at http://twitter.com/BCGovFireInfo 
• Facebook at http://facebook.com/BCForestFireInfo

Learn More:

A Factsheet about prescribed burns and ecosystem restoration burns is available online at: http://bit.ly/1haDzED