CANMORE – Work to log and thin swaths of forest to make way for a large-scale community fireguard to protect Canmore and other Bow Valley communities from a future wildfire threat is getting started this month.
The Town of Canmore, in partnership with the MD of Bighorn and Kananaskis Improvement District, and with support from Alberta Forestry and Parks, was successful in getting a $750,000 grant to get started, beginning with a 2.2-kilometre wide fireguard in the Stoneworks Creek area as early as Nov. 18.
Officials say while the changes to the landscape’s appearance will be different, the work on the fireguard aims to mimic many of the similar positive impacts of a wildfire such as opening the forest canopy, increasing wildlife forage, and creating edge habitat.
“This is excellent news that we have received that grant approval,” said Mayor Sean Krausert during a Nov. 5 council meeting.
“Yes, there will be change and undoubtedly will cause some concern for some, but it will also be increased habitat patch for wildlife and increased protection for Canmore.”
The Stoneworks Creek area north of the Trans-Canada Highway will include a 2.2-km wide fireguard, consisting of logging and thinning.
The fuel break to surround Harvie Heights, slated to begin in mid-February, is about 1,100 metres long. Work is scheduled to begin in March on the south side of the highway near the east gate of Banff National Park.
Construction of the overall fireguard to surround the community, including east to Dead Man’s Flats, and the south side of the Bow River, will occur in phases over the next three to five years, but Stoneworks Creek, Harvie Heights, and the east gates of Banff were prioritized.
Caitlin Miller, director of emergency management and manager of protective services for the Town of Canmore, said the biggest fire threat comes from the west, noting typical wind conditions and topography suggest wildfire will spread more quickly in these areas.
“We plan for all scenarios, which is why this fireguard will wrap around the entire community, but it is most likely based off historical fire behaviour and wind behaviour that it would come from the west and that’s because the winds are prevalent from the west,” she said.
“That said, with climate change and weather patterns becoming more and more unpredictable, it is hard to say what is the new normal and we need to be prepared across the landscape from all angles.”
Crews will focus on chopping down lodgepole pine and spruce trees, while deciduous trees will be retained as much as possible. Douglas Fir greater than 30 centimetres at a height of about 1.3 metres will be thinned.
The project has been designed to leave small clusters of trees, which will reduce the visual impact, much like the work on the back side of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park west of the Banff townsite.
“What we are doing is strategically putting in clearings or some harvested thinning that will really stop or slow the fire down,” Miller said.
“This project is a public safety project, it’s not a logging project.”
Without regular fire cycles to help open the canopy and regenerate growth, Miller said the Bow Valley’s landscape has transformed into dense, mature, continuous forests and a lot of fire-prone trees that have lived well beyond their typical lifespan.
“The landscape as it currently is isn’t natural,” she said.
“If you look at the 1900s at photos of what it looked like in the valley, there was a lot less trees and that’s because wildfire regularly came through the valley, so it will look different but it will look more natural which is a hard concept to think about.”
In addition to the community-wide fireguard, Miller said residents and businesses need to be doing more to FireSmart their own properties in town, adding property owners can book a FireSmart assessment for advice.
“With extreme winds, if a fire starts from elsewhere, we can still have that ember shower come down on us and we really encourage property owners to do everything they can to FireSmart,” she said.
“FireSmart works and anything you can do to protect your property from an ember shower – it won’t be the wall of fire that’s coming towards us – the ember showers will pose a significant challenge as well.”
On Nov 5, Canmore council gave its official nod of approval to the $750,000 construction of the community fireguard, which is being fully funded by the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) grant.
“When you look at how much disaster recovery is in Jasper, $750,000 is a bargain for what you can do,” said Coun. Jeff Mah.
“I hope we can get continued support as we move through our additional phases down the road.”
A massive wildfire in July burned down one-third of Jasper's buildings.
The Town of Banff has still heard no word on its FRIAA grant request to begin the planning for a community fireguard.