Carolyn Grant
The Rocky Mountain Forest District will be taking advantage of suddenly warmer temperatures and attempt to begin prescribed burns this week.
The burns, says Randy Harris, team leader of Ecosystem Restoration, are a follow up to five years of logging and thinning.
"We are looking to kill trees less than a metre high," he said. "That will rejuvenate the grass and reduce fire hazard."
Burns are planned for:
1. Munson Slough just south and west of Jaffray near Lake Koocanusa;
2. Vicinity of the old Kimberley Airport on Hwy 95A;
3. Premier Lake Provincial Park;
4. Artesian Spring just south of McGinty Lake and Meadowbrook.
There will also be pile burning near Meadowbrook over the course of the spring and fall.
The burn at Munson Slough could be ignited as early as Friday, April 5, Harris said.
The Old Kimberley Airport Hwy junction burn is possibly this coming weekend.
In order to ignite a prescribed burn temperatures have to be above 20 degrees C, there must be at least 20 per cent humidity and wind speed must be less than 20 mph.
"We think we may get those conditions this week," Harris said. "The warm weather came a lot faster than we thought. A week ago there were poor conditions, now they are looking much better."