As we continue to wade through a mild winter the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association is already thinking ahead to the wildfire season to come.

General Manager Kevin Boon says after two historic wildfire seasons he is keeping a close eye on all the factors that could hint at how severe, or not, this wildfire season will be.

“A lot is going to depend on the moisture levels as move through the spring and into the summer with,” he said. “One of the things that we know is that there’s a very healthy supply of fuel out there for fires to take place.”

“We’ve got a lot of dead wood out there still level over from the mountain pine beetle.”

Boon says all that dead wood is preventing cattle from grazing on sections of land, noting that grazing can in and of itself reduce wildfire fuel.

“If we can keep those fuel supplies down, it’s important,” added Boon. “And I know that we’ve been working very diligently with government and wildfire services to work on plans on how do we reduce those fuel loads.”

He says preparations are already underway including educating ranchers on wildfire mitigation in the interface areas, including grazing.