The Shovel Lake fire has prompted the Forestry Practice Board to take action but officials say changes won’t be seen in time for this year’s wildfire season.
A member of the wildfire response team complained to the board that forestry debris helped to fuel the 2018 Shovel Lake Wildfire.
Kevin Kriese, chair of the Forestry Practice Board said although the companies involved have followed the proper procedure to reduce the hazard, changes to the legal requirements could help.
“Anytime you log, your going to find debris on the ground during the period before removal happens that makes it harder to fight a fire. There is room to improve that.”
Kriese said the government has a group reviewing the requirements and is having them look at the regulations around how much does not need to be removed, and how long companies have to clean up.
Companies currently have 2.5 years to clear debris after logging stops.
“Logging in these kinds of mountain pine beetles situations actually helps reduce fuel so we don’t want logging to be painted as bad in the long term.”
The Shovel Lake Wildfire was located 25 kilometres Northwest of Fraser Lake and was the largest in Northern B.C., burning over 92,000 hectares.