Starting next week, crews will be conducting County wildfire mitigation work on Crown land near subdivisions southeast of the City of Grande Prairie. For safety purposes, the two blocks of Crown land will be off-limits to the public for about one month during the logging and chainsaw work. All work will be complete around early December.

“This FireSmart work is part of the County’s Wildfire Mitigation Strategy, a proactive approach to minimizing and reducing the impacts caused by wildfires, which can include loss of life and infrastructure,” said County Community Services Director Dan Lemieux. “Crews will be removing the deadfall, as well as the over-mature spruce, both which add to the fuel load in forested areas.”

Residents and businesses in the vicinity of Pinebrook and Pine Valley Estates, as well as Bear Ridge Estates, may experience some noise from chainsaws and/or equipment while crews are at work. Once fire season is over, citizens may also notice some smoke, as remaining debris will be burned.

The areas specifically impacted are as follows:
• 28.7 hectares of Crown land between Evergreen Park and Pinebrook Estates and west of Range Road 55
• 13.8 hectares of Crown land south of Bear Ridge Estates and Range Road 53 (no log hauling from this site)

Drivers are reminded to use caution as logging trucks will be traveling on Township Road 710 (past Evergreen Park) to Highway 668, then west to Highway 40 and north to Canfor mill (then returning). Canfor has purchased the logs for their operations.

This FireSmart project is being managed by the County, and is jointly funded by the County and the provincial government as part of the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) Grant Program, and in partnership with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

For more information about the County’s Wildfire Mitigation Strategy, visit www.countygp.ab.ca/wildfiremitigation or call 780-532-9727.

To learn more about FireSmart visit www.wildfire.alberta.ca and www.aep.alberta.ca.

fire project areas

Information provided by the County of Grande Prairie.