The Lower Similkameen Indian Band has issued an notice that work will be resuming in preparation of a cultural burn between Osoyoos and Cawston.
The burn is planned to cover about 280 hectares within the South Okanagan Grasslands Protected Area and will stretch down to the United States border.
The project area lies within the traditional area of the sm蓹lqmix people and is known as ksisq'iwas (A Split Between the Mountains), nm蓹lqitk史 (Similkameen River) to the west, the c蓹虝k史虝nc蕰an (Pulling Together Travel Trail) to the North, ak涩p蕰as (Place of the Nighthawk).
In addition to the LSIB, the BC Wildfire Service, BC Parks, BC Wildlife Federation, Okanagan Nation Alliance and students from the University of B.C's wildfire programs will be collaborating on the burn.
Before the burn can go ahead, blacklining work to establish control lines must be completed first.
Blacklining was conducted in February, and more is scheduled to begin on March 3.
The LSIB wants to reassure residents in the nearby area after years of severe wildfires in the region that have forced many to previously evacuate.
In addition to putting out notifications that will be shared in local media such as the Keremeos Review, the LSIB will be sharing updates ahead of the burn to ensure everyone who lives nearby and travel on Highway 3 are aware of what is happening.
Fire crews from LSIB and other First Nations will be on-site with BC Wildfire Service crews to gain further experience. This will include LSIB Elders and Knowledge Keepers who are university and culturally educated specialists in tmix史 (all living things), and tmx史ulax史 (lands).
LSIB Natural Resources personnel and emergency response personnel will also be on-site to cross-train and exchange information and knowledge with partner
agencies.
The BC Wildlife Federation provided cameras to assess how previous methods of fire suppression had impacted the wildlife in the area.
鈥淭he cumulative impacts of fire suppression have built up to the point that deer, bighorn sheep and mountain goats are less prevalent on the land,鈥� said LSIB
Knowledge Keeper 岣眛虂蕰ap涩niwt, Rob Edward. 鈥淐ultural burning is a proactive response to catastrophic wildfires and is an important step towards managing for food sovereignty and adaptive management for impacted areas.
"When you put a fence around a place, maybe you think you are protecting it, but what happened is that is has become an overgrown mess and a lot of wildlife is suffering as a result."
Through the return to conduction traditional ciki鈥檒axm (cultural burning), the hope is to restore the land's traditional ecosystems and ensure its health for the future.
In particular, past fire impression efforts have allowed fuel loads to increase and for invasive weeds to take root.
"As observed with experiences from the 2023 Eagle Bluff wildfire, and the 2023 Crater Complex wildfire, and many other fires, increased fuel loads led to more intense fires that were difficult to control, burnt hotter, harmed wildlife, destroyed healthy ecosystems, and disrupted human settlements through property damage," the LSIB said.
Timing the cultural burn for the spring will encourage new plant growth and biodiversity for the land.
While blacklining work will be underway again soon, the actual burn will not take place until conditions are safe for the fire to be controlled.
