Selous Creek Wildfire Risk Reduction Video Release

Nelson, BC:  A video summarizing the Regional District of Central Kootenay Selous Creek Wildfire Risk Reduction Project has been released for community education and engagement. The video includes interviews with project partners and displays work that happened on the project site.

This project has been a collaboration with several project partners including Kalesnikoff Lumber, BC Wildfire Service, City of Nelson, Selkirk College, and consultants. The outcome of the fuel management project aims at reducing wildfire risk in Selous Creek near the City of Nelson by modifying the fuel load and completing a prescribed burn. This unique project started in 2017 with funding support from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC and is an example of the high level of collaboration between regional and municipal governments, fire services and a local timber licensee.

This complex project covers an area of approximately 80 hectares (ha). The following phases of treatment are completed:

  • 65 ha of mechanical harvesting by Kalesnikoff Lumber;
  • 20 ha of mechanical fuel modification to pile debris;
  • 35 ha of machine-tethered fuel modification to create a debris-free fireguard around the outer perimeter of the harvested area and around reserve patches;
  • 5.5 ha of understory hand treatment along The Vein bike trail and surrounding areas; and,
  • 7.5 ha of understory hand treatment along the Rail Trail.

Due to weather conditions experienced this fall the final phase of manual hand treatment to complete the debris-free fireguard around the outer perimeter and around single tree retention will be completed in the spring. The prescribed burn will also be postponed until spring or fall 2023, under the direction of BC Wildfire Service depending on conditions.

Additional information is available at www.rdck.ca/Selous.

If you have questions, please contact project manager John Cathro at cathro@netidea.com or 250.505.3513.

 Click here to view a print-friendly PDF version.

The content on this page was last updated November 17 2022 at 5:53 AM