It was a difficult summer for some Southside residents frustrated by the process of fireguard rehabilitation, but there has finally been some progress.
The fireguards, consisting of high mounds of dirt dug up by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) during last year鈥檚 wildfires were still on the properties of some residents as late as July.
READ MORE: Fireguard removal woes vex Southside residents
People had complained that BCWS procedures of asking residents to provide price quotes from landscaping contractors for the cost of taking down the fireguards were complicated and tiring.
Clint Lambert, Electoral Area E director with the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako was initially critical of the way the BCWS had dealt with property owners.
However, the situation eventually changed for the better.
鈥淭hings are moving along,鈥� he told Lakes District 亚洲天堂 on Oct. 10.
鈥淢y neighbour was reimbursed by BCWS for $3,300 to fix his fireguards. I helped him do it with his and my equipment.鈥�
There is also progress with Lambert鈥檚 property, where during the wildfires in 2018 BCWS crew members had rerouted a creek while building a fireguard.
鈥淭oday a biologist is coming out to inspect it before they rehabilitate it,鈥� the director said.
Ben Wilson, a forestry contractor with Zebe Holdings was also having a tough time into the second half of the summer.
鈥淚 would say up to that point we weren鈥檛 happy either. It was taking too long to get going. But they got on it around the first of August and then things have been steady since then,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he government has been responsive. It鈥檚 just the delay that caused problems.鈥�
Wilson鈥檚 company was contracted to do the rehabilitation work on Crown land for the Cheslatta Carrier Nation. Most was done around Cheslatta Lake and south of Ootsa Lake, which was south of the area of the Cheslatta fire.
He couldn鈥檛 give a precise number of kilometres remaining of fireguard, but he said the work was two-thirds completed compared to what was there in March.
READ MORE: Fireguard rebuilt near Cheslatta Lake
鈥淪ome [of the work] here will be delayed until next year but they could鈥檝e gotten done if they had been started sooner,鈥� Wilson said.
The experience of others in the 亚洲天堂 Lake area, like Ken Nielsen shows that the fireguard issue remains to be resolved.
鈥淸As the] manager of Chinook [Community Forest] I鈥檓 disappointed with the progress of work being done. The amount of red tape involved is the major factor of timely work being performed,鈥� he said.
鈥淸As a] private land owner it took me over five months to settle with BCWS. They do nothing to help land owners through the process of compensation other than putting up walls and hoops to jump through.鈥�
Most of the required fireguard rehabilitation is not yet finished, according to data from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD).
Of the 193.96 km of remaining fireguard from the Verdun fire, 96.98 km has been rehabilitated; 3 km has been done in Cheslaslie Arm, out of 11.73 km in total; 53.39 km of fireguards remain in Cheslatta and 324.47 in Nadina and neither have been done.
In terms of wildfire rehabilitation, such as stabilizing soils and restoring hydrological functions, the remains of 10 out of the 14 fires in the Skeena Region are complete, said FLNRORD spokesperson Dawn Makarowski.
Blair McBride
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