A Mowachaht/Muchalaht member is concerned that a slash burn that has been burning for two weeks appears to have gotten out of control. In an Oct. 30 message to Ha-Shilth-Sa, Marg Amos said the fire could be seen burning on the mountainside from the village of Tsaxana and that it appeared to be burning into an adjacent forest.
A call to BC Wildfire’s Mark Petrovcic reveals that the fires burning on the mountainsides near Tsaxana are controlled fires they call Industrial & Resource Management Burns.
“These burns can be a prescription for a cut block carried out by the licensees and the goal is to reduce the amount of fuel on the site,” Petrovcic explained.
Forestry companies, licensees or private land owners may apply to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations for a Category 3 Open Fire burn registration number to burn fuels like woody debris, stubble and grass. They may pile the debris and burn it, a practise commonly known as slash burning.
Category 3 Open Fires generally start in the late fall and are usually over by the end of December, but can take place up to early spring if the permit is extended.
According to Petrovcic, BC Wildfires monitors the permitted Category 3 Open Fires burns and persons carrying out the burns must take all necessary precautions to ensure that it is contained in the burn area. BC Wildfires is not aware of any fires burning out of control in the Gold River area.
“We’ve had escapes, usually due to non-compliance,” Petrovcic said. But the slash burns are an important part of forest fire prevention in that they destroy potential forest fire fuel sources before the hot, dry summer.
To report a wildfire in British Columbia, call 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 from your cellular phone.
