No resistance to Rosemont Park fuel mitigation
By Nelson Daily Editor
By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily
Apathy reigns supreme in regards to the fire mitigation clean up of Rosemont Park, according to one City councilor.
Coun. Bob Adams said notices had been sent out to the residences in the Rosemont neighbourhood nearest the park, and a public meeting held had no attendees, in regards to planned fuel mitigation work in the park by Nelson Fire Rescue and a City contractor.
As well, a scheduled meeting at the Nelson Cemetery for a look at the expected clean up and burning of forest debris did not attract any curious Nelsonites either, said Coun. Adams.
“So obviously the message is getting out,” he said. “People are not concerned with the cleanup of Rosemont Park anymore.”
In 2006 Rosemont residents rose up against the chainsaws that were leveled at some of the dead and dying trees contained in the park. The contention at the time was there was no public notice given of the planned fuel mitigation.
This time around, the contractor will be taking down suspect trees and the fire department will be burning the debris in order to remove the fire risk it poses.
The action is part of the fuel mitigation prescription developed in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan adopted by city council in 2008.
Around $19,000 was received from the Union of BC Municipalities at the time to fund the development of the prescription, with another $60,000 from the provincial Community Public Works.
The meat of the prescription is this: the forests in the city are full of diseased, dead and dying wood and they need to be removed, but no healthy trees will be removed. Removing the dead trees will not only clear up a fire risk, fire chief Simon Grypma said, but it will retain biodiversity.
The removal process will also clean up the woody debris on the forest floor to eliminate the chance a quickly spreading fire would move from the ground to the canopy — giving firefighters a better chance to contain and extinguish a fire.
Fuel reduction is also taking place in Pipeline and South Pipeline Trail, Mount St. Francis properties, Anderson Community Watershed, LV Rogers High School and the Five Mile intake.
