Out of control wildfire in Willmore

[Texican]

This will also slow down the spread of pine bark beetles coming in from BC.

[TheIceTitan]

Originally Posted by Diamondhitch

You missed the point entirely

Think of it in another way. Lets say it takes 500 hamburgers/year to keep you alive. You have 10,000 hamburgers at your disposal. You burn 500 hamburgers and have to throw them away. You will still be completely unaffected.

10,000 less 500 is a 5% decline in usable habitat. Any decline in habitat pretty much guarantees that their will in future be less animals than the land could support without the reduction (it doesn't have to be a 100% decline), particularly given how long it takes to become usable for a species like caribou. My larger point was that with a struggling, somewhat sensitive species like caribou, every little bit helps. I never implied that this fire, even if it engulfed a sizable fraction of the Willmore, would spell the end of caribou -- but it would definitely affect their long-term prospects of recovering to a sustainable population.

[Diamondhitch]

Lets put this in perspective. So far 14000 Ha have been burned, sounds bad. 14000 Ha = 54 square miles, uh oh still sounds bad. Wilmore encompasses 4568 square miles. So far we have burned 1.1% of Wilmore... The Caribou will be just fine.

If an average of .5% burned every single year, the caribou would have 2264 square Miles of prime habitat at any given time and the forest would still be able to regenerate itself.

[alpineguy]

I would love to see this fire burn through a bunch of the areas over run with buttercup. This terrible weed has taken over grassland areas which could otherwise support wildlife. Certain entities have turned a blind eye to this problem and instead focus their interests on projects which spread it deeper into this beautiful area.
Just my 2 cents!!

[walking buffalo]

In typical bureaucratic non-speak, the government has refused to answer who gave the order to give an IA (Immediate Attack) order on this fire.... This order appears to be in violation of the Willmore Wilderness Park Fire Management Plan.
http://www.albertaparks.ca/media/447...e_fire_opt.pdf



In regards to caribou, the A La Pech herd will benefit from this fire. As one poster here is doing, to quickly jump on the Caribou horn and call Fire, Bad, bellows their lack of understanding....

[Forest Techer]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

In typical bureaucratic non-speak, the government has refused to answer who gave the order to give an IA (Immediate Attack) order on this fire.... This order appears to be in violation of the Willmore Wilderness Park Fire Management Plan.
http://www.albertaparks.ca/media/447...e_fire_opt.pdf



In regards to caribou, the A La Pech herd will benefit from this fire. As one poster here is doing, to quickly jump on the Caribou horn and call Fire, Bad, bellows their lack of understanding....

Sweet zombie jeezuz thank you WB

[boonerkiller]

Let it burn and and other fire in there, that country is getting overgrown.

[fish_e_o]

how did this all turn out?

[st99]

Originally Posted by fish_e_o

how did this all turn out?

looks like it's over, I don't know how big in total was the area burnt

http://wildfire.alberta.ca/wildfire-...tatus-map.aspx

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by fish_e_o

how did this all turn out?

Much better than Alberta Wildfire could have ever accomplished by their own design.

After the smoke clears, a review of Alberta Wildfire's actions will add a few sparks to upcoming consultations. Heck, it might even ignite a few more fires.

[fish_e_o]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Much better than Alberta Wildfire could have ever accomplished by their own design.

hahaha

it looks like it's still burning but under control and not spreading 12,000 hectares currently.

sounds like a bit of wind could get her going good again

[NCC]

Originally Posted by alpineguy

I would love to see this fire burn through a bunch of the areas over run with buttercup. This terrible weed has taken over grassland areas which could otherwise support wildlife. Certain entities have turned a blind eye to this problem and instead focus their interests on projects which spread it deeper into this beautiful area.
Just my 2 cents!!

X2. The buttercup around Big Graves is more damaging than the brush encroachment.

[Talking moose]

Fire good.

[fast_pass88]

Resurrecting an old thread here, does any one know what area of the willmore this fire was in last year? a map or aerial view would be great

[albertadeer]

Originally Posted by fast_pass88

Resurrecting an old thread here, does any one know what area of the willmore this fire was in last year? a map or aerial view would be great

I think it was in west of rock lake.

[cowmanbob]

Rockslide creek area I think. Not much for game in that area.

[Luckwell]

Stand there and watch it burn. Last year last weeks of October there wasn't enough grass to feed the horses. Torch it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[walking buffalo]

It's been almost nine years since this fire.

Can anyone here bring insights to the regeneration?


While there are few still on AO from when this happened,
this thread is a classic example of how this forum in its past glory was able to positively influence wildlife and environmental management in Alberta.

A person probably could not tell from just reading this thread,
but it was here where public exposure and actions by forum members that made the noise,
that led to the discovery of a long forgotten fire management plan (post #65) ,
and voiced concerns to the right ears in government to force competing interests into compliance with the fire plan.

Quite simply, this thread is responsible for the fire not being put out asap and reaching the size that it did.
One of the largest Natural Mountain forest fires in Alberta in decades.

Well Done, AO of Old.

[Dubz337]

Hunt around that area a lot. Fire now means way more new growth than usual that will attract ungulates. Great news!

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Dubz337

Hunt around that area a lot. Fire now means way more new growth than usual that will attract ungulates. Great news!

9 years is long past the new growth stage

[Grizzly Adams1]

One of the largest Natural Mountain forest fires in Alberta in decades.

Just for perspective.

https://calgaryherald.com/feature/tr...into%20Alberta.

[Dubz337]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

9 years is long past the new growth stage

Didnt realize this thread was that old lol

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Was this the one along the Smoky?

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Dubz337

Didnt realize this thread was that old lol

It happens lol

[walking buffalo]

It's a nine year old thread, brought up for good intentions.

Nine years is not much time in the lifecycle of a forest.
Nine years is certainly still the "New Growth" phase...

I understand that very few will ever actually be where this fire occurred, and few of those will talk about it, and then the reality of how few people are on this site....

While I'm curious as to how the land is doing, I was also reminiscing of how AO used to be an influencer in Wildlife management.
I wanted to show current members that change can be effected from commentary here.

Unfortunately, the visible results seems to be mostly dismissive to that end....

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by MooseRiverTrapper

Was this the one along the Smoky?

Yes.

[Albertadiver]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

It's a nine year old thread, brought up for good intentions.

Nine years is not much time in the lifecycle of a forest.
Nine years is certainly still the "New Growth" phase...

I understand that very few will ever actually be where this fire occurred, and few of those will talk about it, and then the reality of how few people are on this site....

While I'm curious as to how the land is doing, I was also reminiscing of how AO used to be an influencer in Wildlife management.
I wanted to show current members that change can be effected from commentary here.

Unfortunately, the visible results seems to be mostly dismissive to that end....

Yep, there used to be a lot more active folks on here that were able to put together arguments based in facts and real life experience. It had some positive impacts for sure.

With respect to the Willmore specifically, that's one area that is still on my bucket list. I hope to get to experience it one day.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Originally Posted by walking buffalo

Yes.

I don’t think to many people make it back to that part of the willmore. Long haul from either staging area.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Just wait another 100 years and that section of Willmore will have excellent game numbers including ungulates.

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Just wait another 100 years and that section of Willmore will have excellent game numbers including ungulates.

I'll go with the opposite once again. In 100 years if that section remains there will be excellent numbers of squirrels and their predators.
Right now conditions will be perfect for ungulates