Forest thinning work to reduce wildfire spread will take place in Brackendale Farmers’ Institute Park and near the Squamish Airport over coming weeks

The District of Squamish is set to begin work to thin forests in a key area of town to reduce the spread of wildfires. Fuel thinning work removes fire fuel such as underbrush and woody debris from the forests. The work will take place in the Brackendale Farmers’ Institute (BFI) Park and in the area of the Squamish Airport, beginning January 5 through the end of March. The BFI Park will remain open to the public during the work, with work areas sign-posted for safety.

Removing fire fuel from forests has an added benefit of supporting forest health as dead and unhealthy trees are prioritized for removal.

“Applying fuel treatments to forested areas in the community is one of the recommendations of the 2017 Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and we are pleased to have received provincial grant money to do this work,” says District of Squamish Mayor Karen Elliott. “This is the latest in the District’s efforts towards wildfire mitigation and builds on the FireSmart work staff have been conducting in neighbourhoods within the wildland-urban interface areas.”

The contractor for the fuel thinning work is Spectrum Resource Group. Signage will be in place at the park to keep the public well away from the work areas.

Additional details of the work include:

• The work will take place over 4.85 hectares along the northern and eastern edges of the BFI Park.
• In the airport area, the work will take place over 7.4 hectares of forest between the airport and Government Road.
• Woody debris and trees smaller then 12.5 centimeters in diameter will be removed.
• There will be a partial removal of trees between 12.5 and 17 centimeters.
• Larger trees if deemed danger trees will be taken down as needed.
• Most of the debris from the park will be chipped and hauled away; in some cases woody debris piles will be burned in accordance with provincial and local regulations.
• A professional forester will monitor the work, which will include environmental oversight.

The District of Squamish Community Wildfire Protection Plan identifies a toolbox of options across 48 recommendations to help reduce the wildfire threat to the community. These include the District’s annual Chipper Days and other FireSmart efforts, the all-hazards community evacuation plan, new Wildfire Development Permit Area guidelines and Wildfire Landscaping Management Bylaw. Learn more at Squamish.ca/wildfires.

Questions from the public about the forest thinning work can be directed to Squamish Fire Rescue at sfr@squamish.ca.

January 5, 2022