Fire in hills, but not to worry

Photo: Contributed

Fires are burning in the hills around Burns Lake, but there is no need to be alarmed.

The BC Wildfire Service is burning slash piles in several areas within the Nadina Fire Zone to help prepare the sites for reforestation in the spring of 2018.

Burning began on Oct. 10, 2017, and will continue periodically in the fall until the work is completed.

The areas where pile burning is scheduled include:

• Around the Heading Creek Forest Service Road, about 12 kilometres east of Houston.
• Around Maxan Lake, about 23 kilometres northwest of Burns Lake.
• Around the Bomberger Forest Service Road, about eight kilometres west of Endako.

Smoke from these controlled burns may be visible from Highway 16 and from the communities of Houston, Topley, Rose Lake, Decker Lake, Burns Lake and Endako.

The burns will remove accumulations of flammable material and reducing the risk of aggressive wildfires in these areas in future.

Trained crews and firefighting equipment are on site to monitor and control these burns.

Burning is only being done when weather conditions are favourable for quick smoke dissipation. Wind speed, direction, venting and burning conditions are all considered prior to ignition to minimize the amount of smoke generated.