Castlegar’s Zuckerberg Island will be closed on September 7 and 8 to complete fire smarting work in the heritage park.
This work is part of the city’s community wildfire protection plan and includes mitigating potential wildfire fuels to help protect people, land and structures from wildfire. The fire smarting work is done through a partnership with Selkirk College’s forestry technology program.
“The city’s community wildfire protection plan outlines initiatives to fire smart public lands in the city to protect our community before a major event,” says fire chief Sam Lattanzio. “This is a continuation of fire smarting work that began in the Kinnaird area by the ball fields which was identified as high-risk.”
The Castlegar Fire Department has partnered with Selkirk College since 2018 on similar projects. These give Selkirk students an opportunity to complete the prescriptive part of the program in the spring and the mitigation part in the fall, giving them both hands-on and reporting experience.