Strategic planning and science-based implementation have proven that prescribed fire is an effective tool for keeping our communities safe.
When community protection is one of the primary objectives, applying controlled, low-intensity fire during spring or fall allows for the safe removal of overgrown vegetation. This creates a fuel break, a barrier or a change in fuel type or condition (to one that is less flammable than that surrounding it), or a strip of land that has been modified or cleared to prevent fire spread. In the event of a fire, it may serve as a control line from which to carry out suppression operations.
This reduces the severity and impact of fires where we live and makes forests healthier and more resilient.
Wildfire Risk Reduction: Prescribed Fire
The City of Kamloops, in partnership with Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, BC Wildfire Service, and Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District will be responsibly introducing fire back onto our landscape through prescribed burning in the spring of 2025.
Prescribed burns are planned for Rose Hill Park (8 hectares), Peterson Creek Nature Park (17 hectares), and a publicly owned area of Lac Du Bois Grasslands (10 hectares).
The Challenge in Kamloops
Historically, forest fires naturally occurred every three to thirty years in Kamloops. Because of this frequency, they burned much cooler and smaller than they do today. However, extremely effective fire suppression over the past century has allowed for forest ingrowth and dead vegetative material to accumulate, increasing the fuel load in our natural forests.
To add to this concern, an increasing number of communities are being established in rural areas, placing homes directly adjacent to flammable areas and increasing the number and magnitude of wildland/urban interface incidents in British Columbia.
Wildland fire suppression and structural fire suppression can be extremely dangerous and costly. Wildland/urban interface fire suppression increases the expense and danger to all suppression resources and the public exponentially.
Collaborative Partnerships
Wildfires occur regularly in the natural environment surrounding and within the Kamloops city limits and will continue to occur regardless of the most successful prevention programs. In some natural environments, planned prescribed fire (as opposed to wildfire) is desirable and effective in restoring ecological health and reducing the risk of wildfire losses. The City works collaboratively with Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc and BC Wildfire Service to plan and implement prescribed fire projects. Each partner has various roles, actions, and responsibilities to ensure a successful burn takes place.
Guiding Principals
- Losses to wildfire cannot be eliminated; however, they can be significantly reduced with appropriate pre-planning and preparation.
- Education, engineering, and enforcement are the pillars of wildfire risk reduction.
- A comprehensive approach involving fuel management, infrastructure and structural design, pre-suppression preparedness, and emergency response must be taken to effectively reduce the risk of wildfire losses.
- Mitigations must not only be planned for, but carried out.
- Due to the dynamic nature of wildland vegetation and community, ongoing maintenance must occur and mitigations must be re-evaluated and adapted to changing situations.
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed fire is a land management tool used to ecologically restore balance to our land and, most importantly, reduce the risks of wildfire in our community. It is one of the most effective tools in managing the intensity and spread of wildfires by reducing surface fuels that would otherwise be available for a wildfire to consume.
A prescribed burn is the planned and controlled application of fire to a specific land area and is one of the most ecologically appropriate means for achieving a variety of land management objectives, such as public safety, protection of communities, protection of critical infrastructure, and ecosystem restoration.