Parks Canada has successfully burned a fireguard in the lead-up to a prescribed fire in the Bow Valley – but plans for the main fire are delayed until the weather improves.
Fire crews burned a total of 42 hectares on the north side of Bow Valley Parkway on April 30 and May 1, including 17 ha on the east guard and 25 ha on the western guard in preparation for the upcoming main burn of a 2,400-ha area.
“We had the perfect window before the precipitation came and this guard will contribute to containment during the main ignition,” said Dani McIntosh, Parks Canada’s fire communications officer.
“With the significant precipitation we’ve had, and there’s a bit more in the forecast, our plans to go ahead with the main unit will be delayed until the weather improves, which will likely be another two to three weeks.”
The prescribed fire, about 10 kilometres west of the Banff townsite, is adjacent to Bow Valley Parkway between the areas locally referred to as Hillsdale Meadow and Guide’s Rock.
One of the main goals of the planned burn is to improve the quality of habitat for grizzly bears, in part to draw bruins away from the railway line where they feed on grain. It is linked to the joint Parks Canada-Canadian Pacific Railway project, which aims to reduce grizzly bear mortality on the tracks. There have been 14 known grizzly bear deaths on the railway in Banff and Yoho since 2000.
Another key goal is to reduce lodgepole pine regeneration and to restore Douglas fir and aspen grasslands that resemble historic vegetation patterns typical in the area, as well as improve habitat quality for the establishment of whitebark pine, an endangered species.
The area between Hillsdale Meadow at the east end of the Hillsdale split to the Fireside day-use area – including a parking lot and Edith and Mount Cory trails – and Edith Pass trail to its junction with the Cory Pass trail – is currently closed.
Bow Valley Parkway is still open, except for a 17-km stretch overnight for the mandatory travel restriction.
“Even though we are done burning for now, the closure will remain in place and that’s largely due to public safety due to rockfall and treefall,” said McIntosh.
“I think we will reopen the day use areas until the main ignition starts, but everything north of Bow Valley Parkway will remain closed.”
