The risk of fire at the Burns Bog and Watershed Park has the city concerned.
Delta council last week discussed upcoming actions, including the thinning out of a section of trees at the bog, to help reduce the risk of wildfires in the community, part of Delta’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
However, the hot dry weather the region has experienced this summer may prompt additional measures including closures.
Mayor George Harvie said he’s concerned about reports people are still smoking around the various trails at the bog and Watershed Park.
“A number of years ago, when we had this intense heat, we had signs saying no smoking, and then we had signs actually prohibiting people from going in,” he said.
Harvie said he has asked staff to make sure no smoking signs are posted and for Fire Chief Guy McKintuck to report back whether Watershed Park and the Delta Nature Reserve at Burns Bog should be closed to the public.
Coun. Jeannie Kanakos said residents, particularly in the Sunshine Hills neighbourhood, are feeling anxious.
The city, in a news release, is reminding people that when visiting Delta’s designated park trails to stay on trails to reduce the risk of accidental fires.
The city’s summer parks patrol staff on bike or foot will be keeping an eye out for any prohibited activities or wildfire risks.
In a letter to residents located within or adjacent to a naturally-vegetated area, along the wildland urban interface, which was also posted on the city’s website, McKintuck noted Delta Fire and Emergency Services is taking measures to reduce community risk.
Those measures include reducing fuel load in select locations, testing fire hydrants and coordinating risk and response activities with BC Wildfire Service and Metro Vancouver.
Delta’s firefighters receive wildland urban interface training annually and the city conducts increased inspections of interface areas such as parks and beaches throughout the summer months, he said.
The city encourages residents to protect their homes by ensuring that their yards are free of dry grass clippings, fallen branches, compost heaps and needles that could easily ignite.
It is important that this yard material be disposed of via Delta’s curbside green waste removal program and not deposited into ravines or forests where it can add to the fuel load for forest fires, McKintuck said, adding residential backyard fires continue to be prohibited year-round in Delta.
If you see or suspect a fire, call 911 immediately and report any unauthorized activity that poses a risk of fire to Delta Police Department’s 24/7 non-emergency line at 604-946-4411.
