The Quesnel Natural Resource District will be conducting two separate and unrelated wildfire risk reduction projects near Puntataenkut Lake (Tibbles Lake Road).
The project will finish risk reduction work, as well as conduct pile burning across two treatment areas covering 19.5 hectares. One in the north, and one in the south of Tibbles Lake Road, located 49 km west of Quesnel.
BC Wildfire Service, in a release, said the burns may start as early as October 27 and will continue through the winter until December 31.
The Wildfire Service says residents in the area should expect:
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Contractors in the southern unit will be using chainsaws and hand tools to create 5-6 metre spacing between the larger, mature timber and the smaller understory trees, as well as removing dead standing Lodgepole Pine.
- Objectives for the northern unit will be to utilize machines to rake and pile debris created from the salvage logging project from last winter.
- Understory trees, less than 12.5 centimetres in diameter, will be thinned and branches on residual conifers will be pruned up to 2 metres, or up to 50 per cent of their height, whichever is less.
- Wildlife trees that are not a threat to workers, deciduous trees, and coarse woody debris will be retained to protect wildlife habitat.
- Piles no larger than two metres by three metres will be created. The piles will be burned this fall or winter when conditions are appropriate. Burning will only proceed if weather and site conditions are suitable and allow smoke to dissipate.
The Wildfire Service adds that fire crews will ignite piles for burning using hand torches, should conditions be favourable, and will remain at the sites, monitoring all fire activity.
They add that smoke may be visible to residents and travellers in the Puntataenkut Lake and Tibbles Lake Road areas.
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