REGINA — A prescribed burn is planned for Monday afternoon in Wascana Park.
The burn is planned to take place at Bobolink Field, as part of a plan to burn five total sites around Wascana Park this week (Wascana Hill, Prairie Arboretum, Habitat Conservation Area, Old Native Prairie Restoration Site).
“[These fire] address some invasive grasses, wildfire fuel risk abatement. We're trying to reduce those fuels here and bring back a critical ecological process that creates biodiversity in our landscapes,” said Dale Gross, grassland ecologist, Saskatchewan Parks.
For grassland areas, Gross said fire serves as a renewal.
Gross said renewing plants can help them return more plentifully.
Preparations and safety:
Burning on any provincial land requires an extensive approval process, said Gross.
“We are getting our approvals from stakeholders directly. So park managers, site managers, and the provincial capital commission, but then they eventually get to the desks of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. And they have an extensive review process and approval process.”
Once approved, Gross said workers put natural barriers into place before starting the fire.
Gross said the public should remain at a safe distance when any planned fire occurs.
“Exercise caution and just try to be away from when things are actively happening.”
One factor the prescribed fire team has to navigate is wind.
“If they, [the winds] remain above 25 kilometres, we just don't burn. There's a limit to where we know we can control a grass fire,” said Gross.
He added, “Grasses are notoriously reactive to wind, changing directions very quickly. And they become very hazardous for firefighters tackling those things.”
Agencies are currently monitoring wind conditions, which could delay the prescribed fire.
In this scenario, Gross said this would be the last chance this spring to burn within city limits.
