Wildfire Risk Reduction With a Twist in the Burns Lake Community Forest

Wildfire Risk Reduction (WRR) has become a common term in British Columbia, Canada.  While WRR is not a new concept in the management of fuels in and around commuinties and extending to the broader landscape, it has recently become a strong component of forest operations and funding. The purpose of this study is to share lessons learned while operationalizing WRR in the Burns Lake Community Forest (BLCF) in central BC.  The main WRR treatments include thinning and prescribed fire with resulting effects on the remaining resources in the community forest including wildlife and its habitat.  Creative and innovative techniques were applied to reduce wildfire risk hic resulted in co-benefits including incresaed wildlife habitat, fire absorbent landscapes, and local employment opportunities.  Beyond this work remains the ened to test the treatments with fire in a safe way through prescribed fire where indices can be closely monitored to determine the influence of the treatments on fire behaviour.