Photo: File photo

Mother Nature has put the kibosh on a planned burn in Vernon.

The City of Vernon, in co-operation with BC Wild Fire and BX Swan Lake Fire Rescue has been planning a prescribed burn for 10 acres of city-owned lands in the Foothills.

The site prep has included garbage removal, cutting a fire guard, removal of low-hanging tree branches and thinning of brush.

The burn had been planned for this month, however, with the recent rain, plants have greened up too quickly and a burn in these conditions would not achieve the desired effect.

Officials said the site would also benefit, in some areas, from additional mechanical thinning, which would reduce under growth and help trees and brush better resist fire.

Additional site prep will continue and a burn will take place in the fall or next spring, as conditions permit.

“Prescribed burning is an important tool in managing fuel loads in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). In the absence of fire, wildlands become over grown and unhealthy. Fires that do occur in untreated lands during extreme hazard conditions can result in fast moving and hot fires which damage the ecosystem and present serious risks to our community,” said Chief David Lind.