Two more cultural burns announced within Gitxsan Territory on Wilp Gwiiyeehl lands

As the Province prepares for Wildfire season, the BC Wildfire Service has announced two more cultural burns within Gitxsan territory in partnership with Wilp Gwiiyeehl and the Gitxsan Laxyip Management Office.

The work will take place at the Upper Kispiox River Recreation site, about 23 kilometers northwest of Kispiox, and also along Kuldo Forest Service Road, about 30 kilometers northwest of Kispiox. Six hectares will be burned at each site at some point between March 30th and May 13th as local weather conditions allow.

When the burns are underway smoke will likely be visible from Kispiox and Highway 16.

Similar to the cultural burn planned with Wilp Nikate’en on Anderson Flats, the work is meant to support the growth of cultural food and medicinal plant species in the area, improve the local habitat for wildlife, and cut back on the wildfire risk by reducing viable combustible fuels.

All three cultural burns have an aspect of knowledge sharing about them, with the BC Wildfire service training members of Wilp Gwiiyeehl and Wilp Nikate’en on how to conduct burning operations safely, while in turn, the Wilp’s have an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of cultural burning to the Wildfire Service.

We’ll let you know when the exact date of each cultural burn has been set.