Several prescribed burns took place in and around Williams Lake April 2 to 6.
Crews from the Cariboo Fire Centre, Williams Lake Fire Department, Williams Lake First Nation and Esk'etemc are collaborated on the 20-hectare burn above the river valley near Westride.
The Tribune was invited to go into the fire zone just as crews began to ignite the fires.
"This is spectacular opportunity for us to collaborate with BC Wildfire on a project that really needs to get done," said WLFD Chief Evan Dean. "Creating these kind of fuel breaks and improving the forest health community-wide helps us in terms of our fire resilience."
Peter Holub, a wildfire prevention officer for the Cariboo Fire Centre and the lead for cultural and prescribed fire, said they were doing a maintenance burn on the grasslands just below the Westridge subdivision.
"The reason we picked today is because of one, the drying of the pine needles we've seen in the last week or so, and also, the southeasterly winds we are having pushes the smoke away from the community."
Chad Wilde grew up in Williams Lake and started working with the CAFC in 2015.
In 2023 he moved off the crews and moved into the office to be a wildfire assistant.
For Friday's burn, he was the burn boss trainee for the second time, and was involved with planning the burn.
"We've done site walks around the site so we know what we need to know so we are prepared come burn day and notifying the stakeholders as well such as the golf course and Tolko," he said.
Afterwards they will return to assess to make sure the fire is out and see what the fire did, whether it was positive or negative.
"We see what we can change to do better next time."
