Spring is the time to get outside and clean up the yard – and Jasper National Park is no different.

Parks crews are planning several prescribed burns to restore healthy forests and grasslands, and to protect the community from the threat of wildfires. 

A 725-hectare unit of land 20 kilometres north of Jasper at Vine Creek is slated for a a spring burn. Fireguard work began in the area in 2007 and continues to ensure a proper down-wind barrier. Smoke is expected to be seen within 100 km of the fire. That area includes Hinton, Brule, William A. Switzer Provincial Park, Rock Lake, Folding Mountain and Miette Hotsprings. 

The fires will affect a few trails close by, and closures are expected for the Vine Creek and Celestine Lake trails as well as the Snaring/Celestine Road. 

Every year the Pyramid Bench fireguard is subject to small prescribed burns, and 2011 will be no different. This year fire crews will focus on the area surrounding trail eight in the spring or fall. The fires will be safely surrounded by sprinkler systems that will extinguish the blaze at the end of the day. Closures are not expected on the trail, but delays can be expected. 

Crews are planning several burns in backcountry meadows later in the year. The fires will attempt to restore the meadows and will depend on conditions and weather. No closures are expected for the backcountry meadow burns. 

The final prescribed fire will be part of the Fiddle River Complex at Bedson Ridge. The 46-hectare parcel of land near the eastern boundary of the park, north of the Athabasca River, should not raise issues of smoke, as fire crews expect the area to be well-ventilated. No closures are planned. The fire should restore the benefits of fire on the Benson Ridge landscape, and will further enforce the fireguard. 

Over the winter, FireSmart-ForestWise crews finished up work to make the community of Jasper a safer place, by thinning out the surrounding forest and building a community fire guard. 

Now focus is being switched onto homeowners and businesses to make their own yards and properties FireSmart. Assessments are available by calling Jasper Fire Chief Greg Van Tighem at 780-852-1595 or Alan Westhaver, FireSmart project manager and vegetation specialist for Parks Canada at 780-852-6169.

Parks will also be seeking volunteers to help out with invasive weed pulling work bees throughout the year. For more information on volunteer opportunities contact Kim Weir, fire communications officer at 780-852-1891.