Community Fuel Management Plan, update #3

This is an update prepared by
Tim Cole, RPF
Lonely Mountain Consulting Co.
tim.cole@telus.net

250-377-7654office

250-318-3196cell

I am pleased to inform you that we are approximately 60% finished the fuel management plan and are on time and on budget. There are now significant changes observable in the community and so far, we have had tremendous positive feedback. We have been completing the sites as conditions allow as the ground is still frozen in many sites and we will complete these in the next few weeks. Many of you are also aware of the fire guard that we constructed south of the community on the ridge that can only be seen from viewpoints north of Lac le Jeune, however very little is visual from the community itself. The guard does cross the trail accessing the top of the ski hill as well as the old road accessing Ridge Lakes on the west side of the ski hill. If you are crossing the guard or are inclined to walk or ride on the guard, please use caution as there are numerous hazards such as lose logs and small stubs that can sneak up a pant leg and do some damage. We will be moving a hand crew to go through in the spring and remove these stubs, but please be careful in the meantime. The construction of the multi-use trail on the main guard will also be completed when the ground thaws.

There has been some discussion in the community regarding the construction of a multi use access trail on the south side of the lake that will access properties on Lookout, Marmot, Osprey and Ridgemont and I wanted to inform all concerned that our fuel management plan does not address this issue and we have no plans or budget to construct a trail. I did not add this proposed trail into my initial proposal and referrals, so it would have to follow a separate approval process.

We are happy to see the popularity of the firewood that has been made accessible to the residents as well as the kind gestures to the crews. Currently there is firewood available on the Park Dr West Road near the cattle guard. Next week, there will be firewood available at the end of the Walloper Lake Road near the wildlife fence/gate. Please refrain from cutting firewood yourself while the crews are on site as this is a safety issue for yourself and the crew. If you enter the worksite you are under the supervision of the site crew leader and need to follow their instructions to maintain a safe work site. H.I.S. also incurs liability for all people on site including visitors and visitors with chain saws is not acceptable. You are welcome to cut firewood from designated logs set aside after hours when the crews are gone and still welcome to collect pre-cut firewood while the crews are on site. Thank you for your understanding. Also, please do cut logs that are left on site and generally away from the road as these are prescribed for wildlife and soil conservation purposes as well as any standing trees on site. All dead and/or dangerous trees close to the road will be removed and all remaining standing timber has been prescribed to be there. If there are logs along the ditchline, you are free to cut and remove this as firewood.

The main access road will be treated within the next two weeks as we are waiting for it to be mostly snow free. Please watch for warning signs, trucks and crews along the road as we all travel this route a bit faster than the internal residential roads where the crews have been so far.

As this plan addresses fuels outside our property boundaries and tactical suppression in the event of a wildfire, we also need to address fuels on our own properties to enhance the plan overall. Some of us have had the pine beetle do this work for us, however there many other things we can do. Here is a link to a Fire Smart brochure (PDF) from the Ministry of Forests that has some very good information for rural residents. The more residents that fire smart their properties, the more effective our fuel plan as a whole becomes, reducing the threat of catastrophic loss of our homes and community.

Thanks to everybody for the positive and constructive feedback and understanding as this project continues. Please call or email me if you have any questions or concerns and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.