When complete, the prescribed fire will:
- Help to create a strategic firebreak for wildfires burning eastward;
- Encourage Whitebark pine colonization on the mid and upper elevation slopes;
- Help restore Douglas-fir savannah areas on the lower slopes;
- Help reduce available habitat for Mountain Pine Beetle.
In this landscape, where lower intensity fires were historically frequent, fires will happen whether we light them or not. Prescribed fires allow us to manage the fire and accompanying smoke more effectively because we can:
Manage the fire’s size, timing and rate of burning to ensure objectives are successfully met and to reduce the amount and duration of smoke.
Light during good venting conditions, so smoke is dispersed high into the atmosphere.
Take advantage of approaching wetter weather to help extinguish the fire and shorten the smouldering period.
Ticks will soon be out
Ticks are related to spiders and resemble tiny watermelon seeds with legs. They have sensory organs in their front legs that can detect carbon dioxide, odours and heat given off by hikers. When a hiker passes within reach of either a male or female tick, it climbs on, and then crawls around the body looking for a good site to attach itself—they love the back of the neck. It only takes a few hours for the tick to attach itself with its mouthparts, and they can easily go unnoticed during this time. Their salivary glands produce a unique substance that prevents them from being easily detached. If a female tick remains attached, it may feast on a blood meal for up to seven days, increasing her original weight by more than 100 times before dropping to the ground and laying eggs.
Health Canada recommends following these tips to protect yourself during tick season:
- When walking in tall grass or woods, walk on cleared trails wherever possible.
- Wear light coloured clothing, tuck your top into your pants and tuck your pants into your boots or socks.
- Put insect repellent containing five per cent Permethrin on clothing and insect repellent containing DEET on all uncovered skin. Reapply as frequently as directed on the containers.
- Check clothing and scalp (covered or not) when leaving an area where ticks may live. Check in folds of skin. Have someone help you check hard-to-see areas. When a tick is located, remove it immediately. Check the whole body, and don’t stop when you find one tick, as there may be more.
- Regularly check household pets.
If you find a tick attached to your skin:
Use tweezers to remove it. Grasp the tick’s head and mouthparts as close to your skin as possible, and pull slowly until the tick is removed. Be careful not to twist, rotate or crush the tick during removal.
After removing the tick, use soap and water to wash the spot where you were bitten. You may also disinfect the bite area with alcohol or household disinfectant.
