Yukon's Wildland Fire Management unveiled a draft of Watson Lake's three-year Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) on Jan. 20, which includes prescribed fires, clearing potential wildfire fuels, replacing trees with less flammable species and continuing local FireSmart initiatives.
The Watson Lake Fire Centre Regional Hub, responsible for managing wildland fires in southeastern Yukon, will be clearing potential wildfire fuels across 117-hectares over the next three years, spanning across the Liard River to the northern tip of Watson Lake.
The plan highlights that accessing fuel clearing sites for treatment may require upgrading infrastructure to accommodate activities that could include using heavy machinery and logging trucks to conduct work in the area. The construction of new skid trails or resource roads is noted in the plan as necessary for accessing certain areas.
Wildland Fire Management plans remove potential wildfire fuels in areas near Upper Liard, the Old Alaska Highway and southwest of Watson Lake. Liard First Nation has been contracted by the Yukon government to clear flammable materials in proposed treatment areas, with assistance from the Town of Watson Lake, according to regional protection manager Randy Mitton.
The creation of fuel break zones can slow or stop wildfires by reducing the availability of organic fuels, thereby lowering fire spread rate and intensity, while also providing strategic and safer access points for firefighting operations, according to the plan.
Planned and controlled fires in designated areas are included in operational plans to reduce Watson Lake’s vulnerability to wildland fire risks by completely eliminating ground fuels.
Wildland Fire Management proposed a strategy in the plan to replace flammable tree species, such as conifers, with less-flammable species like aspens, poplars and birches, a strategy supported by research to reduce the risk of a 'catastrophic wildfire,' according to the CWPP.
Wildland Fire Management is also working with the Town of Watson Lake to refine the municipality’s FireSmart program, which aims to increase neighbourhood resilience to wildfires by regulating property development locations, construction materials, water usage and lot sizes, according to the operational plan.
Watson Lake has a significant wildfire history, with fires spreading in lower elevation forests and valleys, according to the CWPP. Historical data from GeoYukon shows wildfires in the area typically travelled southward along the Robert Campbell Highway, originating in the north, and sweeping eastward in the low elevation areas.
During a town hall meeting on Jan. 22, Mitton stated that the Yukon Wildland Fire collaborated with B.C. Wildfire Service operatives to combat active wildfires in the Liard Basin areas during particularly dry summers. Resource sharing between the two agencies occurs in response to wildfires, but there are no current plans for cross-agency fire prevention activities, he added.
A Dec. 20, 2022, B.C. Wildfire Service press release indicated that the agency worked with Yukon Wildland Fire Management to complete prescribed burns and fuel break activities in Lower Post, B.C., approximately 23 kilometres from Watson Lake back in 2022.
Data from GeoYukon shows that wildfires in the Watson Lake area have previously spread eastward and impacted northeastern B.C. Yukon Wildland Fire Management assisted B.C. Wildfire Services in managing these fires, according to the Dec. 20 press release.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
