Da - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 4, 1994 _. Strange as it may seem, fire is not always the deadly enemy _ it's reputed to be. In fact says Stephen Taylor, Fire Research . Officer with the Canadian Forest ; Service, much of what we value in - BC, forests we owe to fire. Historically, naturally occurring sur- face fires maintained fire-adapted “species such as Douglas-fir, pon- . . derosa pine, and western larch at "lower densities than are now com- mon.: Periodic high-intensity crown . ... fires regenerated fire-adapted ...gpecies such as Douglas-fir and . . lodgepole-pine, and open habitats -. favoured by some wildlife species. Contemporary fire man- _ agement does not attempt to elimi- Nate fire.from fire-influenced ecosysiems but lo suppress wild- fires that threaten critical values, - and to.introduce fire when needed fo maintain forest health and ecosystem function. The Fire Management Program at Pacific Forestry Centre _ reflects this philosophy and strikes - a balance between research on wildfire: suppression and the use of fire as a strategic tool. Program ‘Head Bruce Lawson says this trend . in fire research towards ecosys- tem-based forest management is relatively new. His research pra- gram examines how different fires _ behave under different canditions of. fuels, weather and topography, _ and quantifies effects of fire on the ecasysiem. That knowledge forms the basis of systems made avail- able to tire and resource managers at the provincial Ministry of Forests, the forest industry, and other resource agencies. "And a big part _of the job is to get the knowledge organized into decision-support _.. systems." Steve Taylor, Fire Research Officer, Canadian Forest Service The Canada/B.C. Partnership Agreement on Forest Resource Development (FRDA II) is funding several of their initia- tives, ‘Much of what we value in BC Forests we owe to Fire” . CFS researchers are stucy- ing and modeling smoke production and dispersion from prescribed fires as part of the Smoke Plume Evaluation and Modeling (SPEM) Project wilh B.C. Forest Service ° Protection Branch and with the sup- port of several other agencies. This project will develop models to help resource managers manage smoke from prescribed burns. The project initially focused on sampling smoke characteristics _ fram broadcast bums carried out fal- lowing logging, but is moving on to examine smoke from ecosystem maintenance bums. The SPEM team is now working with the B.C. Ministry Research finds friend and foe in forest fires of Forests' Nelson Forest Region staff and B.C. Environment in the Ecosystem Maintenance Buming Evaluation and Research (EMBER) Project. Public concern with smoke is -- expected to be a major factor limiting the reintroduction of fire insome — ecosystems ~~ the goal of the EMBER project. CFS is also examin- ing factors affecting tree mortality to help managers develop prescriptions to achieve ecosystem management objectives. On the suppression side, Lawson's pragram sponsors, cooper- ates and conducts research into both the behavior of fires and the materials and techniques of fire fighting. CFS researchers have just developed a new model to help fire managers pre- dict when fires will ignite in several key forest types. A FRDA-sponsored study is also underway in which experimental fires will be tit in stand- ing forests to determine threshold burning conditions for crown fires. _.. CFS researchers and FRDA are also sponsoring research on the effectiveness of Class-A foarn far- ~ fighting fires in B.C., both in forests and in the wildland/urban interface. ‘Experimental fires are attacked with different combinations of foam and _ water to find the most effective sup- pression methods. The group is also cooperating with BCFS and CFS fire research in Edmonton to try to quanti- fy the effectiveness of the Ministry of Forests helicopter-based fire fighting crews in different forest types, fire behavior, and topographic conditions. Put it all together — fire behavior prediction, suppressants, crews, and environmental effects — and you have a research effort that’ translates well into the practical task - of fire management — a system of fire environment models Lawson con- siders part of a"Strategic Decision” Support System for Fire Management.’ HIRE'A LOGGER AGENCY For Camp Positions, Good Pay and Benefits, Full Time Experienced ( Minimum 2 Years) — Grapple Yarder Operators — Hydraulic Loader Operators — Heavy Duty Mechanic | — Hoe Operator (Road Building) Mire A Logger Salutes National Forest Week Phone 635-5500 ° * 4925 Keith-+ Fax 635-5524 C e are pleased to add our voice in this salute to forestry during National Forestry Week May 2 to 7, 1994 4740 Lakelse Ave., Terrace ‘Selling by Mail Order? 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