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Prescribed burns planned near Radium
Parks Canada fire management personnel have two projects planned for spring 2015 in Kootenay National Park near the Village of Radium Hot Springs.
Intermittent smoke will be present in the vicinity of these projects while they are underway. Conditions for conducting grassfires are generally best in the early spring, when grasses are dry but the ground has retained moisture from snow melt.
The safety of people, facilities, and surrounding lands is always our highest priority.
Sinclair Canyon Restoration Area – Kootenay National Park
Work continues on fuel reduction in the Sinclair Canyon restoration area adjacent to the Radium Hot Springs pools. Thinning, piling and burning will continue this spring, restoring the area to native open forest and grassland and providing wildfire protection for the community and nearby infrastructure. As early as mid-March, if conditions permit, staff plan to conduct a low intensity prescribed fire in the unit where thinning occurred this winter. This unit is approximately 20 hectares in size. A closure is in place at the Juniper trail and surrounding area while work is in progress.
Redstreak Benches Restoration Area
Parks Canada staff plans to burn a 90-hectare unit in the Redstreak restoration area this spring. This unit, situated in the benches east of the Village of Radium Hot Springs, was burned in 2005 and 2009. Continued periodic prescribed fire is crucial to the maintenance of open forest and native grassland habitats historically prevalent in this area. A closure of adjacent trails will be implemented prior to ignition.
Parks Canada
