Image Credit: Kent Simmonds / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

Wildfire Preparedness

City of Kamloops working on nature park fire mitigation ahead of community wildfire plan update

Apr 16, 2024 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Spring fire mitigation work is well underway in Kamloops nature parks and spaces around the city. Parks crews and firefighters have been working to remove fuel buildup and conduct prescribed burns in several key areas. The work is meant to lower the wildfire risk to a “moderate to low” level — and to make sure that if a fire does spark, it can be kept close to the ground.

As parks and fire crews have been checking off work on their fire mitigation to-do list, the city says that progress comes as it gets ready to update the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Kirsten Wourms, the city’s natural resources crew lead, showed CFJC crews some of the work that was undertaken within Kenna Cartwright Park recently.

“I’m relatively confident that if we get a forest fire coming through the area, a lot of it we can keep on the ground now,” she explains. “We’ve taken a lot of the limbs off of the trees, we’ve spaced out trees so that the fire should stay on the ground, it shouldn’t get up and get into a lot of that crowning.”

Alongside removing flammable hazards, crews used prescribed burning periodically this spring, which wrapped up at the end of March. In doing this work, Wourms notes the goal isn’t a minimalist bare forest and it’s normal to still see a healthy amount of grass, branches and trees.

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“I assure people, every single green space in a municipal area is looked at by a registered professional forester. That’s where we do that balancing act. Yes, we’re definitely going to leave some material on the ground. We need that healthy ecosystem balance.”

Areas that have seen fuel management work include Pineview, Barnhartvale, Juniper, Westsyde and Kenna Cartwright Park. After this spring, Wourms notes the city’s planning around this activity is set to get an update.

“We’ve now completed more than 900 hectares of interface work and we are just finishing up the last of our list from 2017. And so this summer we are going to be rewriting and updating our CWPP, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan,” adds Wourms.

Keeping nature parks and surrounding areas at a moderate to low fire risk is key, but there’s also plenty to be done to reduce the threat to structures in the city.

“As far as residents go, definitely give us a call. The big thing that we’re pushing right now is to get that FireSmart assessment, take a look at your own property.”

Kamloops residents can find more information on wildfire prevention, or request a FireSmart assessment using the city’s website, found here.