This photo shows tree thinning work currently underway in Air Ronge. (submitted photo/Devon Smith)

By Derek Cornet

Safety Precaution

Tree thinning project in Air Ronge nearly half complete

Mar 31, 2021 | 12:45 PM

Before and after images of a wildfire mitigation project in Air Ronge is not sitting well with some residents.

“It’s so disappointing that that’s what it’s going to look like now,” said Larissa Muirhead, who launched a petition for community consultation on the tree thinning last fall. “It was so full and lush and small.”

Muirhead is one of a number of residents to call for the project to be halted in recent months. She launched a petition back in November asking for consultation on it, which attracted 212 signatures including 36 people who lived in the immediate area.

This photo shows the forest before tree thinning began. (submitted photo/Devon Smith)

At a regular meeting in December, Air Ronge council decided to move ahead with the work and crews began cutting down trees in early March.

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“It’s never going to look like that again,” Muirhead said. “It’s going to take years and years for the forest to regenerate that loss and, unfortunately, I don’t know of any maintenance plan for continuing any kind of fire guard or anything like that in the area.”

larongeNOW sent the image of tree removal to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) for comment. In an email, a spokesperson explained the photo shows hand-thinning crews contracted to use chainsaws to thin softwood trees like spruce, pine and balsam fir, and burn residual material in a controlled environment. The intended result will be a clean, park-like area that will not carry wildfire well.

This area was chosen for wildfire mitigation efforts in Air Ronge. (Northern Village of Air Ronge/Facebook)

“A formal Community Wildfire Mitigation Plan was developed and signed off by the community leadership, the SPSA and other stakeholders prior to any work being completed,” the email states. “A total of seven and a half hectares is planned for this work in Air Ronge, with three hectares already complete.”

The email notes thinning forest fuels is proven to be effective at reducing fuel loads and wildfire intensity. Thinning reduces the risk of wildfire spreading from tree crown to tree crown and is much easier for suppression crews to manage. It adds thinning projects are not designed to stop fires.

Wildfire mitigation projects are also occurring near the La Ronge Airport and La Ronge Health Centre.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @saskjourno