A controlled burn took place near the Penticton airport on Sunday. The province will be doing controlled burns this week in the Bald Range and Summerland areas.
(SHANNON QUESNEL / iNFOnews.ca)
March 26, 2013 - 10:48 AM
By Shannon Quesnel
The province will set the land on fire in the Bald Range from March 28 to May 15.
Controlled burning in this area will help with ecosystem restoration and it will be handled by the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch and the Okanagan Shuswap Natural Resource District.
The Bald Range covers about 150 hectares north of the Princeton-Summerland Road, about 11 kilometres west of Summerland.
Grasslands and open forests in the Okanagan have been renewed through ground fires. Such fires limit tree encroachment and maintain open grassland and open forests.
Prescribed burning is a forest professional tool. Fire can be used to improve habitat and improve forage for cattle, deer, bighorn sheep and moose. A controlled burn can also reduce combustible material such as underbrush and dead wood and reduce the risk of wildfire in interface areas where urban development borders on rural areas.
A prescribed burn is ignited and continuously monitored by trained firefighting crews to ensure that the fire does not get out of control.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca or call 250-488-3065.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013