Wildfire risk reduction and fire restoration projects

Fire guards, FireSmart™ and prescribed fires are all aspects of Parks Canada’s fire management program. However, they are quite different.

Fire Guard

A fire guard is a large, strategically constructed feature on the landscape where fuels, such as trees, brush or leaves have been removed, often by mechanical means, or prescribed fire when safe to do so. This large gap in forest canopy fuels can help slow a wildfire and provide safe and strategic locations for fire fighters to respond. Proactively built fire guards increase protection and minimize impact to the environment.

FireSmart™

FireSmart™ Canada is a community wildfire protection program. Examples of FireSmart™ work include removing shrubs, trees, deadfall or woodpiles within the first 10 meters of a building (zone 1). FireSmart™ can also include thinning and pruning of trees in other zones.

Prescribed Fire

Prescribed fire is setting a planned fire under specific, pre-determined conditions to achieve certain goals. At Parks Canada, our goals include reducing the risk of wildfire, restoring and maintaining fire-adapted ecosystems and protecting cultural heritage. Prescribed fires are planned and managed by trained wildland fire management specialists.

Mechanical tree removal is the cutting, processing and removal of trees using low-impact machinery in a national park. It is completed for fire management and ecological benefits. Mechanical tree removal is not-for-profit.

Typical machinery used for timber removal includes feller bunchers, skidders, single-grip processors, hoes, spider-hoes, and forwarders. Semi-trucks are used to haul cut logs.

Mechanical tree removal projects take environmental impacts into consideration and require all machinery to be low impact.

Safety is always Parks Canada’s top priority when planning prescribed fire.

At Parks Canada-administered places, prescribed fires are planned and managed by well-trained, professional wildland fire management specialists. Fire specialists carry out extensive planning and preparation before a prescribed fire is lit. For example, they:

• Evaluate the landscape and assess weather conditions and windspeed.
• Determine the number of people and equipment required to manage a prescribed fire.
• Evaluate and assess risks and scenarios.

The predetermined conditions are written into a prescribed fire plan. The prescribed fire can only occur if the conditions in the prescribed fire plan are met.

During a prescribed fire, surveillance plans are in place along with management strategies if more control support is required. The team also has firefighting equipment in place to contain the fire within pre-set boundaries. Helicopters may be used to monitor the prescribed fire’s progress. Additional crews and equipment are on standby to assist with control if required.

Fire is a natural part of many ecosystems. It plays an important role in the maintenance of habitat for many plants, animals, and insects. It also reduces the buildup of dense forests and old wood. In some cases, wildfire is safe to manage and let burn. In other cases, it is unsafe to let a wildfire burn. Prescribed fires offer an alternative method to safely maintain fire-adapted landscapes.

Parks Canada makes every effort to limit smoke. Prescribed fire operations are only conducted under specific conditions. This helps to ensure the least impact possible for communities and visitors. Ignition will only occur on days with good atmospheric venting conditions to disperse smoke. Once the operation is complete, small amounts of smoke may be visible until the fire is fully extinguished.

There are many things you can do both at home and visiting Jasper National Park to reduce the risk of wildfires.

Visit firesmartcanada.ca to learn what you can do to FireSmart your home and community.

While visiting Jasper National Park, stay informed on the current fire danger status and regulations. While we cannot avoid naturally occurring wildfires (e.g., lightning strikes), we can avoid human-caused fires. Please do your part to keep our communities and first responders safe by not lighting illegal campfires. If you see any wildfires, illegal campfires, or suspicious smoke, please report it to Parks Canada Dispatch at 780-852-6155 or call 911.

The effects of climate change, in combination with historical fire suppression practices, are increasing the chance and severity of wildfires. Reducing forest fuels helps keep a potential wildfire on the ground rather than spreading from treetop to treetop. When fire is on the ground, it:

• limits fire intensity.
• slows the rate of spread.
• reduces windblown embers.
• makes it easier for responders to control.

Pre-established fuel breaks help contain wildfires quicker than when a fire guard is not in place. This reduces the risk to:

• communities
• visitors and residents
• infrastructure
• natural and cultural resources

Having a fuel break in place can reduce the length of time a wildfire burns, which can reduce the impact on air quality.

By planning carefully, we can design fuel breaks to improve ecological integrity. Once completed, the open areas allow sunlight to reach the forest floor. Here, sun-loving plants can flourish. These plants provide important food sources and foraging opportunities for wildlife such as grizzly bears and elk.

A lot of work goes into a fire guard. They often take years of planning before the first tree is cut.

Once the project is approved, external contractors are hired to complete the work. Work often starts in the fall. This includes building temporary access roads. Mechanical tree removal work is completed during the winter months to reduce impacts to soils and vegetation. Once the ground is frozen and/or there is snowpack, heavy equipment cut and remove trees from the area to create the opening. Small vegetation and woody debris get piled and burned on site. Sometimes it is chipped and hauled off-site. Tree removal wraps up by the end of March each year until the project is completed. During the summer, in areas where tree felling has been completed, Parks Canada works on restoration.

To achieve a break in forest canopy fuel, there is a noticeable difference relative to what an area looked like before. Once complete, a fuel break has fewer trees across the project area. The landscape dictates the areas that trees can be removed from within the project boundary. Where possible, natural features are used to minimize the number of trees that need to be removed. Irregular borders help make the fire guard look more natural.

Although changes are evident in the first couple of years after tree removal, it doesn’t take long for ground-covering vegetation to grow back. The freshly created openings allow more sunlight to reach the ground. This permits new grass and shrubs to establish over time.

Parks Canada completes impact assessment processes. These processes identify potential impacts and mitigations to minimize these impacts. Project managers work closely with specialists to make sure projects carry ecological benefits and protect cultural resources.

Vegetation: Before starting work, specialists survey the project area. They flag trees that will be kept, such as mature Douglas-fir, deciduous, and endangered trees.

After the fire guard is complete, Parks Canada restores disturbed areas with native vegetation.

Soils: Equipment and vehicle access is restricted to well-drained or frozen soils. This minimizes soil disturbance and potential for soil erosion.

Watersheds: A riparian buffer zone will be maintained around all lakes, streams, and wetlands.

Machinery only crosses streams at designated crossings. Appropriate protocols are put in place to prevent bank damage and soils or other debris from entering the watercourse.

Wildlife: Trees that provide important wildlife habitat for cavity-nesting birds and other species such as bats listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) are identified and protected. The primary breeding seasons for these species will be avoided by completing the work in the winter months.

Cultural Resources: A no-work zone is maintained around all identified Indigenous and cultural sites or resources. If a previously unknown cultural resource is found during the project, protocols are in place to protect it.