‘The sooner we can do this work effectively and meet our wildfire risk reduction and ecological mandates, the better the position we’re in to manage wildfires’
Parks Canada is preparing to cut a massive wildfire guard in the Lake Louise area to defend against the type of blaze that destroyed a large portion of the Jasper townsite.
While the work that will mechanically remove timber and undergrowth from an area the size of 300 U.S. football fields across the Bow Valley has been planned for several years, recent massive wildfires in Alberta that have torched towns show the critical need for the task, said David Tavernini, acting fire and vegetation specialist for the Lake Louise-Yoho-Kootenay field unit.
“The urgency is high — the sooner we can do this work effectively and meet our wildfire risk reduction and ecological mandates, the better the position we’re in to manage wildfires,” said Tavernini.
The work that could start as soon as November and continue for the next two or three winters will create a fireguard running from Mount St. Piran just to the north of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise to the parking lot and ski runs of the Lake Louise ski hill across the Bow Valley.
It’s a continuation of fire mitigation around Protection Mountain in Banff National Park, at Ross Lake in Yoho National Park and forest thinning near the chateau, said Tavernini.
“(The Lake Louise Fire Guard) is by the far the largest of these,” he said, adding the work also ties into FireSmart defences immediately around buildings.
“That (FireSmart) work is some of the highest priority work — it creates defensible space around communities and allows us to have multiple options and tools in our toolbox.”
The fireguard that will ultimately encompass 165.4 hectares will not only provide a fire break but space to deploy sprinklers and aid in aerial fire suppression, said Tavernini.
Some of the harvested timber will be sold commercially, he said.
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