This fall, Nelson residents may see smoke coming from the forest in the Selous Creek area above the city.
The smoke will be from a prescribed burn, according to a news release from the Regional District of Central Kootenay.
The fire will be overseen by the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) and is part of a larger project over the past few years that has seen a collaboration between local governments and Kalesnikoff Lumber to combine logging and wildfire fuel treatments.
Along with the prescribed burn, 5.5 hectares of understory will be treated by hand along the Rail Trail. Workers will thin small trees, remove undergrowth and debris, and trim the lower limbs of larger trees.
At the same time, workers will be using machines to “create a debris-free guard around the outer perimeter of the harvested area and around reserve patches,” the news release states.
This project follows earlier work begun in 2017:
• 65 ha of mechanical harvesting by Kalesnikoff Lumber Company
• 20 ha of mechanical fuel modification (debris piling)
• 5.5 ha of understory hand treatment along The Vein bike trail and surrounding areas
• Two ha of understory hand treatment along the Rail Trail.
This project has been a collaboration between the RDCK, the B.C. Wildfire Service, Kalesnikoff Lumber, and the City of Nelson, with Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. funding for the fuel mitigation part of the work.
The prescribed burn will take place this autumn and again next spring or autumn, dependent upon weather conditions and BCWS availability.
During the operations, use of the Rail Trail will be restricted during weekdays.
READ MORE:
• Forest just south of Nelson will be logged this year
• Kalesnikoff to collaborate with RDCK, city, on logging near Nelson