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Fighting fire with fire

Crews reduce wildfire fuel in forests near Nelson
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Forestry worker Kiyo Elkuf starts a controlled fire in the woods near Procter. Photo: Jake Sherman

Crews are working this fall in forests near Nelson to create strategically located fuel breaks to prevent and control wildfires. This means working by hand, modifying forest vegetation by retaining large dominant trees, thinning and removing small trees, removing deadfall, pruning the lower parts of the retained trees, and burning everything removed.

The work is a project of the Regional District of Central Kootenay, funded by the Union of B.C. Municipalities, and covers seven different areas in the region.

The photos show crews working within the Harrop-Procter Community Forest above the ferry off Lewis Road, immediately adjacent to West Arm Provincial Park.

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From left: John Cathro, Rick Grant, Galen Roose, and Fire Chief Nora Hannon. Photo: Jake Sherman
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Before and after: a piece of forest land near Procter before removal of fuels (above) and a similar nearby location after fuel treatment (below). Photos: Jake Sherman Forest land before fuel treatment. Photo: Jake Sherman
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Before and after: a piece of forest land near Procter before removal of fuels (above) and a similar nearby location after fuel treatment (below). Photos: Jake Sherman A nearby forest area after fuel treatment. Photo: Jake Sherman
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Bill Metcalfe

About the Author: Bill Metcalfe

I have lived in Nelson since 1994 and worked as a reporter at the Nelson Star since 2015.
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