Parks Canada crews light fires in Riding Mountain to prevent wildfires

Indexado: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]A bird's-eye view of the grassfires burning in Riding Mountain National Park. These aren't wildfires, they're set on purpose. Prescribed fires like these reduce the risk of a high-intensity wildfire and preserve native trees and plants. The park's Scott Briers says they start by burning a ring or a fire guard.

[00:00:18]>> We burn the guards while there's still snow in the bush and at that point the forest isn't available for burning, but the grasslands are. So, we burn those grasslands off and then we have to wait until the forest gets snow free and then dries out to the to the right level for a prescription.

[00:00:34]>> Parks Canada crews set the fires and monitor them with care and attention and in Riding Mountain it's to save the fescue grasslands, an endangered ecosystem. The grassland is only a fraction of the park's 3,000 square kilometers, but Briers says it's important to save. If we can figure out a way to make that grow and increase them to what they were 100 years ago, that would be great. So, that's part of what we're doing right now is trying to make sure that those are maintained and expanded. So far, crews have burned about 1,700 hectares of grassland. A new area is burned every year. Parks Canada's ecologists and resource conservation team decide where.

[00:01:13]Melanie Robinson says crews create a mosaic across the landscape, which is what happens when nature takes charge.

[00:01:20]Like most ecosystems, especially a fescue grassland, it it's used to having fire. It's a natural disturbance that's been on the landscape. So, it will grow back. It always grows back.

[00:01:32]And especially when you do it under the controlled parameters. Once all the grassfires are out, comes the next phase to burn brush away from the spruce, pine, tamarack, and trembling aspens.

[00:01:43]Michelle McDougall, CBC News, Riding Mountain National Park.