(Image Credit: BC Wildfire Service)
By Elora McCormack
Williams Lake burn

Wildfire risk reduction to begin near Williams Lake Airport

Nov 12, 2026 | 10:10 AM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — Smoke seen rising near the Williams Lake Airport is not necessarily cause for alarm as a controlled burn is getting underway in the area.

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) said the Ministry of Forests contracted Jeremie LeBourdais to conduct a fuel management treatment in a 53-hectare area just south of the airport, next to a private property.

Work began in October and will continue until March of 2028, with periodic pile burning happening through autumn and winter, and when conditions allow.

The BCWS said the treatment involves both hand and mechanical methods to selectively thin understory trees that contribute to ladder fuels, and pruning lower branches on retained to reduce potential wildfire spread into the forest canopy.

Work is intended to reduce the risk of fire spreading into the canopy, reducing canopy bulk density, reducing surface fuel density, and maintaining wildlife habitats by retaining wildlife trees, deciduous trees and coarse woody debris.

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“Fire is a natural process in many of B.C.’s ecosystems. The BC Wildfire Service works regularly with land managers to undertake fuel management activities, including the use of prescribed burns and wildfire risk reduction projects, to help reduce the severity of future wildfires and related threats to communities,” said the BCWS.

This in the same area as a previously announced wildfire risk reduction project along Airport Road, but they are not connected.

by Elora McCormack

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