Kamloops Forest District

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Kamloops Forest District

• Fire Facts - 2003

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Weather facts
• Driest summer in record -105 years
• 5th year of drought in a 10 year cycle
• Drought codes starting this year at 546
• last year 612 - average 240
• more snow lower down this year but less water
  content

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Overview
• Kamloops District area (total area within
  district boundaries) - 1,313,662 ha
• Total area burned - 56,208 ha
• Percent of District burned - 4.28

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Total number of Fires in Kamloops District -136
  District, 734 Kamloops Fire Center (approx. 8
  million ha)
• Number of Fires larger than 5 to 100 ha - 8 for
  189 ha
• Number of Fires larger than 100 ha - 6 Bonaparte
  -1500 ha about 852 ha in Kamloops
• McGillivray - 11,400 ha
• McLure - 26,420 ha
• Strawberry Hill - 5731 ha
• Venables -7635 ha
• Vermillin - 3981 ha)

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Dollars spent on Suppression
• for Kamloops District
• - 128 million
• provincially 430 million
• 97 million just for helicopters

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Burned area totals
• (Fires do not burn 100 within the boundary)
• Total Area for Fires Over 1000 ha - 56,019 ha
• Crown Land Burned (large fires) - 42,970.1 ha
• Private Land Burned (large fires) - 5,448.6 ha
• Indian Reserve - 3,212.8 ha
• Park Area Burned - 536.9 ha
• Woodlot area burned -1012.1 ha
• Amount of guard built - 682.3 km

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Timber Harvest Land Base (District timber
  producing area) -673,913 ha
• Timber Harvest Land Base Burned (large fires) -
  25,625 ha
• Percent of District Timber Harvest Land Base -
  3.8

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Annual Allowable Cut for District
• (average volume m3 harvested each year)
• Average AAC (2002 apportionment) -1,723,245 m3
  from 6,590 ha
• Percent of AAC in burn area -346

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Amount of volume within burn area
• (Gross area volume - not all burned)
• Timber Volume - 8,242,372 m3
• Timber Harvest Land Base Volume - 4,979,462 m3
  (This is not all mature)

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Amount of volume within burn area
• (Gross area volume - not all burned)
• Timber Volume - 8,242,372 m3
• Timber Harvest Land Base Volume - 4,979,462 m3
  (This is not all mature)

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Range Impacts
• Grazing Leases burned - 2405 ha
• Range Tenures Burned - 36,879 ha
• Animal Unit Months impacted 2003 - 1100 AUM
• Animal Unit Months impacted 2004 - 7450 AUM
• Km of fence damaged - 93.0 km
• Km of fence to replace lost natural barriers -
  63.5 km (AUM grazing for 1 cow/calf pair for
  one month) (Fence totals do not include Grazing
  Lease and Private land fences.)
• No turnout in 2004

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003
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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Role of Prescribed Fire
• reduce fuel loading
• reduce the density of encroaching trees
• reduce dead, cured grasses
• stimulate important understory vegetation
• maintain wide distribution of vets and snags
• 3 yrs ago started a spring burning program

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Rehab process
• All fireguards(680 km) were salvage logged, water
  controlled and grass seeded (average stumpage
  rate 29/m3)
• All identified high erosion sites were grass
  seeded at 10kg/ha (4406 ha)
• All identified noxious weed sites were grass
  seeded at 10kg/ha (2310 ha)
• Forage seeding for wildlife and cattle was
  completed on 1471 ha at kg /ha
• Total grass seeding 8187 ha (18 of crown land
  fire area)

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Salvage logging
• AAC uplift established -2 million m3 for fire -3
  million m3 for MPB
• Burnt wood 7 NRFL established -1.6 million m3
  (3 yr term) Df last 2-3 yrs
• 5 direct award to First Nations 1.2 million m3
• 2 competitive 400,000 m3
• Average stumpage 25 /m3
• BCTS -200,000 M3
• 60 fire area in IDF zone only 10 overlap with
  MPB

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Plantation damage (not fully assessed)
• Section 162 licensee plantations (1987)
  destroyed 3000 ha cost 3.2 million
• MOF plantations (pre 1987) could be as high as
  6000 ha at a rehab cost of 5 million

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Provincially
• Average hectares burned over past 10 years
  25,316ha
• Hectares burned in 2003 - 265,322ha (as of Oct31)
• Most hectares lost was in 1958 - 855,968ha (since
  1950)
• In the past ten years, the most ha lost was in
  2003
• Since 1950, 2003 is the 7th worst year in terms
  of ha lost
• Since 1950, 2003 is the 21st worst in terms of
  of fires

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Property Costs
• 334 homes and 10 businesses, primarily in
  Barriere, and Kelowna
• Other structures, ranging from summer cottages to
  barns to storage sheds
• Damaged infrastructure, including utility lines,
  and wooden trestles
• Significant damage to business property e.g.
  the Tolko mill in Louis Creek and range fencing
• Loss of forest and wildlife values.

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Human Costs
• 3 firefighters perished - all pilots
• 50,000 evacuations (44,000 people evacuated plus
  6,000 re-evacuated)
• Tourism industry impacted across the interior
• Financial Costs
• Direct costs of fighting fires estimated at
  142,617,000
• Property damage or lost business could be in tens
  of millions more.

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• For more information contact
• Peter Lishman
• Kamloops Forest District
• 250-371-6500

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Kamloops Forest District Fire Facts - 2003

• Powerpoint by G2