The District will continue wildfire fuel management work this winter as part of continuing efforts to proactively strengthen community wildfire resiliency.
Fuel management work will begin Monday, November 13 on a four-hectare section of second-growth forest in Ballantree Park, between Ballantree Road and Kildonan Road in the British Properties. The work is expected to take three months to complete, although the timeline is dependent on weather conditions. The trails in Ballantree Park will be closed at Ballantree Road and Kildonan Road for the duration of the project to ensure public safety.
Wildfire fuel management helps protect forests, wildlife, people, and property by reducing the amount of wildfire fuels to decrease the intensity and rate of spread of a wildfire. The work will include the removal of underbrush and woody debris, pruning of lower branches, and removal of tight second-growth trees or dead trees, but leaving mature and deciduous trees.
One of the District’s key strategies to reduce wildfire risk in areas where the forest meets the community is through this kind of fuel management, as described in the District's 2019 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).