Parks Canada will be doing a prescribed burn in the Alder Creek area, along Mush Lake Road in Kluane National Park.
The prescribed burn is part of Dákeyi ukaanathį̀ jè, said Brendan Petrasek, public outreach officer for Kluane National Park. He translated the Southern Tutchone name to English as “All of you watch over our country with your heart.” The project is a collaboration between Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, Kluane First Nation and Parks Canada. The project aims to use both Western and Indigenous knowledge to restore Kluane’s forests to their full health.
The burn doesn’t have a set date yet, but it will take place over one to three days between Sept. 9 and 19, according to the press release. The social media account of Parks Canada, Yukon said there would be no fire operations after Sept. 19.
Most of the park will remain open to visitors. However, during the burn, Mush Lake Road, Shorty Creek Trail and sections of the Cottonwood Trail will be closed to the public. Sí Män/Mush Lake and Tashäl Män/Bates Lake will not be accessible either.
Flames and smoke may be visible, and park officials warn smoke may drift into neighbouring areas.
Two helicopters will be present during the operation: one for ignition and one for containment. The press release says eight personnel will patrol the fire line and manage spot fires. Parks Canada also said multiple water pumps, hoses and sprinklers will be positioned around the fire unit.
Citizens of Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, or CAFN, will help with the burn, according to Petrasek. The area is on their traditional territory, he said.
“We will have CAFN citizens out there with us and who have been involved in the entire project,” Petrasek said. "There's kind of like an incident command structure, and citizens from CAFN and land guardians are slotted right into that structure.”
Dákeyi ukaanathį̀ je was born out of community concerns about the health of the forest, said Petrasek. The forest is in a fire deficit, meaning the amount of fire on the landscape now doesn’t match the amount of fire that was seen there historically, he said.
The website for Dákeyi ukaanathį̀ je notes policies like the creation of the Kluane Game Sanctuary interrupted cultural practices on the land, including the traditional use of fire.
Petrasek emphasized safety is paramount during a prescribed burn. If the weather turns, becoming too dry or wet, for example, crews won’t go ahead with the burn.
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
