An operational fuel treatment involving a thin-from-below approach will be undertaken in various treatment units amounting to a 20.4 hectare area, located south of the community of D’Arcy. This area is recognized as a priority wildfire risk reduction area by the Sea to Sky Natural Resource District. The treatment area is a continuation of work completed in the winter of 2022/2023.

Thinning from below and removing excess fuel will reduce wildfire occurrence, severity and spread, prevent
wildfire from spreading into the tops of trees, and permit better access for crews responding to wildfire in this
area. This treatment will also reduce the risk of ignition adjacent to the egress/access of Portage road and the
community of Devine as a whole.

A shaded fuel break will be developed as part of this project to reduce the risk of wildfire and improve forest
resilience. The fuel break will provide an area that will reduce flame lengths and the rate of spread of wildfires
approaching the community and the road. During the development of this fuel break, some dense small
stemmed trees will be removed to reduce the overall fuel load in the forest, while retaining enough canopy to
shade the ground and prevent future understory overgrowth.

Workers will remove heavy undergrowth and prune lower branches on retained trees up to 3 metres and widen
spacing between the trees. Remaining material will be piled in piles no larger than 2 meters tall and 3 meters
wide, in locations that will not result in an increased fire risk. These piles will be burnt during times of
appropriate venting windows to limit the impact of smoke in the area. Traffic control may be required for short
durations in the specific area where danger trees may need to be felled.

For more information about this project contact:

Ryan Tate, Wildfire Risk Reduction Coordinator
Sea to Sky District office
101-42000 Loggers Lane, Squamish, BC
Email: FLNRO.SeaToSkyDistrict@gov.bc.ca
Telephone: 604-898-2100