Saws are buzzing in the region as the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) continues to reduce the potential for devastating wildfires by cutting down on the quantity of fuel in our forests.
“The RDCK has treated 220 hectares over the past five years and we are set to treat another 50,” said Noreen Clayton, an emergency program coordinator with the RDCK.
Woodlands adjacent to the communities of Arrow Creek, Balfour, Edgewood and Kingsgate will be treated between now and April 2015. Contractors will cut small diameter dead and dying trees and remove fine woody debris such as branches and needles from the forest floor.
The four projects are:
• Area B, Arrow Creek - A & G Reforestation started work on October 21.
• Area E, Balfour -Loki Tree service started on October 28 with thinning in the Regional Park along the beach.
• Area K, Edgewood -Debris Resources Ltd will start in Edgewood on November 12.
• Area B, Kingsgate -Strategic Fire Control Ltd started work on October 22.
These projects are being funded 90 per cent through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities Strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative, five per cent through the Columbia Basin Trust and five per cent from the RDCK Sustainability Service.
“The areas being treated were all deemed to be high priority areas adjacent to communities according to the RDCK Community Wildfire Protection Plan,” said Clayton.