The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development plans to conduct a 180-hectare prescribed burn on Crown land, near Cherry Creek, to restore the area’s ecosystem, and reduce wildfire risks for nearby communities.

The planned burn site is about 15 kilometres north of Cranbrook, and about two kilometres north of Canadian Rockies International Airport, near the junction of Mission Road and LD Ranch Road. Smoke may be visible from Wasa, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Wood’s Corner and Meadowbrook.

This controlled burn could begin as early as Thursday, April 26, but the exact timing will depend on weather and site conditions. The burn will proceed only if conditions are suitable, and will allow for quick smoke dissipation and low to moderate fire intensity. Trained wildfire crews will carefully control and monitor the fire at all times.

BC Wildfire Service crews will be working in partnership with the ?aqam First Nation, which plans to complete a 385-hectare prescribed burn on nearby land at about the same time.

Fire is a normal and natural process in many of B.C.’s ecosystems. The BC Wildfire Service works regularly with land managers to undertake fuel management activities (including the use of prescribed burns), to help reduce the severity of future wildfires and related threats to communities.

Prescribed burns are effective at reducing wildfire hazards because they decrease the amount of available fuel (combustible material such as underbrush and dead wood) on the landscape. They can also help control insects and the spread of disease in forests.

To report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation, please call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone.

A factsheet about prescribed burns and ecosystem restoration burns

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