Grass and pile burn planned for Prince George

Prince George residents may see smoke in the sky over the next few weeks due to a few B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) planned burning projects underway.

BCWS is conducting a pile burn and prescribed grass burn on six plots at the Prince George Tree Improvement Station site.

The project began on March 21 and will be completed by May 15 and staff from the BCWS will carefully prepare, control and monitor these fires.

The work will be done for sanitization, hazard abatement and training. These burns are part of an ongoing fuel management treatment project to promote forest health and reduce the risk of wildfires in the area.

Smoke may be visible southeast of College Heights and surrounding areas and south of the city of Prince George.

The exact timing of the burns will depend on site, weather, venting and snow conditions. Burning will proceed only if conditions are suitable and allow smoke to dissipate.

BCWS has also started a wildfire risk reduction project at Pilot Mountain as it plans to burn 40 piles of wood debris at the Pilot Mountain Wildfire Risk Reduction site.

Smoke may be also visible to surrounding communities and along Highway 97 north until that burn is complete.