Forest thinning work continues near the Squamish Airport

November 3, 2022

The District of Squamish is continuing forest-thinning work in Brackendale in order to reduce the risk and spread of wildfire. Work will take place in risk areas situated around the Squamish Airport, and around the water tower on Squamish Valley Road, and will occasionally impact parts of the Ray Peters Trail in these areas. The area of work was identified as a high priority for fuel treatment in the District of Squamish Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2017 Update due to the presence of hazardous fuels adjacent to the airport and in this residential area.

Work has been approved through the District and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations in conjunction with local stakeholders and considerations of riparian areas, bird nesting and other wildlife and includes:

• Maximizing retention of dominant and co-dominant canopy trees to maintain a cool and moist understorey microclimate;
• Thinning from below (i.e., remove suppressed and intermediate trees) to reduce the risk of extreme crown fire behaviour associated with high crown bulk density and fire laddering into crowns;
• Pruning of retained trees to increase crown base height and reduce ladder fuel continuity;
• Reducing fine surface fuel loading to limit head fire intensity, lower potential fire severity, and increase potential control;
• Reducing fine surface fuel loading and increasing crown base height to ensure critical surface fire intensity is between 1,000 - 2,000 kW/m; and
• Reducing crown bulk density and crown closure to decrease the ability of a fire to spread between crowns; and
• Retaining and encouraging live deciduous tree and shrub species with a high moisture content to reduce fire behaviour and provide wildlife habitat.

The impact to residents will be limited while the work is being completed, however, public access to sections of the Ray Peters Trail will be limited or closed intermittently over the course of this work. Signage will be in place along the trail to alert residents of any access limitations as they occur.

Work is expected to run through March 2023. 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.

November 3, 2022