Warren Lake prescribed fire

Parks Canada may conduct a prescribed fire at Warren Lake, Cape Breton Highlands National Park between May and early June, 2018. Burn activities are expected to last two to four days. Fire management specialists have been monitoring weather and fire conditions to determine ideal conditions for the fire. The timing of the burn is dependent on appropriate weather conditions. The public will be advised once the date is set.

Safety is Parks Canada’s top priority. Prescribed fire projects undergo extensive planning and environmental and cultural impact assessment prior to approval and implementation. Fire management specialists and firefighters from Parks Canada will be on-site during the fire and local volunteer fire departments will be notified. Once the prescribed fire is completed, we will be patrolling the area until full extinction.

This prescribed fire is one of many concrete actions taken nationally to restore and conserve special habitats. It will maintain and enhance the presence of red oak and white pine in Cape Breton’s landscape where data has shown those species are not currently regenerating well.

After this prescribed fire at Warren Lake, the Bring Back the Boreal project team, which is working to restore the boreal forest, will build an exclosure near the area to learn more about the impacts of moose in this other key region of Cape Breton Highlands National Park, the Acadian forest.

Although Parks Canada works to minimize any impacts from prescribed fires, the public may notice smoke and helicopter activity in the area along the Cabot Trail.

Interested in knowing more about prescribed burning?

Contact us at cbhnp.info@ pc.gc.ca, call 902-285-3000 or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.