Fairholme Range Panorama
Prescribed Burn © Parks Canada
Fairholme Panorama
Fairholme Range | Douglas Fir Protection | Douglas Fir Ecology | Douglas Fir Protection | Mountain Pine Beetle | Mountain Pine Beetle Situations | Mountain Pine Beetle Images | Prescribed Burn | Prescribed Burn History | Prescribed Burn Planning | Prescribed Burn Fire Triangle | Prescribed Burn Images | Fuel Breaks | Fuel Breaks Carrot Creek | Fuel Breaks Facility Protection | Fuel Breaks Wildland Urban Interface |
Fairholme Range
© Parks Canada
The Fairholme Range runs along the north side of the Trans Canada Highway in Banff National Park from the park east gate toward the Town of Banff. The Fairholme Range is the largest continuous undeveloped area of montane habitat in the park. Montane habitat occupies only 3% of the total area of Banff National Park. Its milder climate and diverse vegetation provide essential habitat for many species of wildlife.
For thousands of years, fires periodically swept through the montane, renewing its forests. But for the last eighty years, fire was suppressed in this area. Without fire, the Fairholme Range lacked diversity - the forests grew thick and even-aged, primarily made up of pine trees - which in turn provided poor quality habitat for wildlife. These dense, thick forests also increased the risk of large-scale wildfires and insect and disease outbreaks.
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Douglas Fir Protection
© Parks Canada
Some of the oldest Douglas fir trees in Alberta can be found in the Fairholme Range. Due to fire suppresion over the past 80-100 years, there has been an unnatural buildup of forest fuels (flammable vegetation, dead downed wood). This may lead to high intensity fires that could threaten the survival of these old Douglas fir stands.
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Douglas Fir Protection - Ecology
Why have the Douglas fir stands flourished in the Fairholme Range?
Douglas fir trees up to 700 years old exist due to special adaptations that protect them from frequent fires. The have thick, corky bark that enables them to withstand low intensity fires historically common to montane ecosystems such as the Fairholme.
Why is the Douglas Fir important in the ecosystem?
Douglas fir trees add to the ecosystem's biodiversity and provide habitat for a variety of wildlife. Many species of birds eat Douglas fir seeds, while bears use the bark of young trees for food. Douglas fir trees, in combination with grasslands, are also important in maintaining browsing habitat for animals like elk and deer.
Douglas fir, like this tree near Johnson Lake in Banff National Park, are specially adapted to withstand fire and have been known to live for a thousand years. © Parks Canada
A mosaic of vegetation types, like the Douglas fir trees and grasslands pictured here, provide food and shelter for wildlife. © Parks Canada
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Douglas Fir Protection
© Parks Canada
These flat, soft needles give the Douglas fir tree its nickname of "friendly fir".© Parks Canada
Current Parks Canada research is studying the effect of prescribed fire on old growth Douglas fir trees. Prior to the 2003 Fairholme Range prescribed burn, researchers mapped and measured many of the Douglas fir trees in the Fairholme Range. To reduce the likelihood of trees being killed by the precscribed burn, fuel was raked, thinned and lightly burned arond the base of the trees.
Now, researchers can revisit all of the mapped trees and determine how many survived the prescribed burn.
Vegetation is burned around Douglas fir trees to protect them from intense fire prior to the Fairholme Range prescribed burn.
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Mountain Pine Beetle
© Parks Canada
The mountain pine beetle (MPB) is a naturally occurring insect that contributes to the health of the forest ecosystem. The mountain pine beetle colonizes and kills mature lodgepole pine trees creating openings in dense forests. These openings let more sunlight into the forest, promoting plant diversity and productivity, and increasing the quality of wildlife habitate for a variety of animals such as elk and grizzly bears.
Adult mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosea) are between 4-7 mm long.
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Mountain Pine Beetle - Situation
Why outbreak now? 
Red trees killed by mountain pine beetle on the slopes of Mt. Norquay in Banff National Park.© Parks Canada 
Red, dead trees killed by mountain pine beetle in Yoho National Park, British Columbia.© Parks Canada Over eighty years of fire suppression have created vast stands of mature lodgepole pine. Large amounts of suitable habitat, combined with consecutive years of mild winters, have allowed beetles to thrive in places they have rarely been before. At the moment, British Columbia is experiencing the largest mountain pine beetle outbreak in history with approximately nine million ha of affected pine forests. Mountain pine beetle is currently found farther east and at higher elevations than ever recorded in the past.
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A researcher checks a mountain pine beetle trap in a lodgepole pine forest in Alberta.© Parks Canada Mountain Pine Beetle - Images
Parks Canada, in conjunction with other research organizations, is undertaking a variety of research projects on mountain pine beetle.
These holes in the tree bark surrounded by sticky sap are called pitch tubes and indicate where beetles have bored into the tree. © Parks Canada
Pitch Tubes - Trees defend themselves by producing resin in an attempt to flush insect and disease from their systems. When a tree is colonized by mountain pine beetle, it will often produce enough resin to 'pitch' or flush out beetles. However, mature or weakend trees may not be able to produce enough resin to stop beetles from colonizing them.
This cross-section of lodgepole pine shows the band of blue stain caused by a fungus carried by the mountain pine beetle. © Parks Canada
Blue Stain Fungus - mountain pine beetle have special pockets called mycangia that carry blue stain fungus into the tree. Once the fungal infection spreads within the tree, it blocks nutrient and water transport, killing the tree.
These fancy patterns carved under the bark of this pine tree indicate where beetles have chewed pathways called "galleries" into the phloem. © Parks Canada
Mountain Pine Beetle galleries - When beetles enter the phloem layer, they create vertical galleries in the wood in which they lay their eggs. As the egss hatch, larvae continue to create more galleries, eventually prohibiting the flow of water and nutrients up and down the tree.
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Prescribed Burn
An air tanker flies in front of fire.© Parks Canada
Fire is a natural component of a healthy forest. Just like many other natural disturbances such as insects, avalanches, floods and disease, periodic fires help to maintain diversity and create mosaics of meadows and forests where a multitude of plants and animals can flourish.
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Prescribed Burn - History
In Banff National Park, research has shown that the number and size of forest fires has continually decreased since the 1880's. Prior to the 1880's, forests in Banff were subject to frequent, low intensity fires deliberately set by Aboriginal peoples to herd game, create new grazing habitat and keep travel routes open. Area burned per decade in Banff National Park decrease from approximately 40,000 ha to less than 500 ha by the 1950's. This decrease is primarily due to a change in attitudes toward fire that resulted in forest fire prevention and suppression when Banff National Park was created.
Prescribed burns are fires intentionally lit by specialists under contolled circumstances to simulate natural wildfire. In 1983, with an increased level of understanding of the important roles of fire in the ecosystem, Banff National Park conducted its first prescribed burn. Since then, prescribed burns have been conducted throughout the park, covering more than 20,000 ha. In 2003, the Fairholme Range prescribed burn was conducted to restore montane habitat, reduce the amount of suitable mountain pine beetle habitat and reduce the risk of wildfire in the Bow Valley. It successfully burned over 5,000 ha of forest.
© Parks Canada 
© Parks Canada Banff National Park's Mt Norquay in 1902, shows less vegetation in the valley and on the slopes due to frequent fires. Compare that to the 1984 image of Mt Norquay.
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Prescribed Burn - Planning
A fire specialist points to a map to brief fire crews on the prescribed burn plan for the day.© Parks Canada Intense planning occurs prior to each prescribed burn. Fire specialists must consider many factors before a prescribed fire can take place. Not only do specialists have to take past fire history (frequency, pattern and intensity) into account, but they must also determine what ecological objectives must be met. Burn plans are documents that outline the short and long-term objectives of the burn, and describe in great detail the location and procedures that must be followed to ensure the burn is conducted safely.
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Prescribed Burn - Fire Triangle
Fire Behaviour Prediction
A fire technician monitors the weather in preparation for igniting a prescribed burn.© Parks Canada During the planning process, fire behaviour specialists determine strict prescriptions under which a fire can be set. They take into consideration location, time of year, and weather to ensure that both ecological and safety objectives are met. Specialists must consider all components of the Fire Behaviour Triangle - fuel, weather, and topography - when planning a prescibed burn.
Fire Triangle
Fire Triangle© Parks Canada 
These downed trees caused by a wind storm provide fuel for a wildfire.© Parks Canada
Fuel -- Both live and dead vegetation provide fuel for fire. Vegetation size, spacing and moisture content affect fire behaviour. For example small fuels such as grasses burn quicker than large fuels like logs. Live vegetation contains much more moisture and thus burns slower and less intensely than dry, dead vegetation.
Dark rain clouds over Mt Rundle.© Parks Canada
Weather - Factors such as wind, relative humidity and temperature all help to determine when to conduct prescribed burns. Many burns are conducted in the spring when cooler temperatures and rain can limit the size and duration of the fire. But, weather can change quickly and is therefore analyzed intensely before, during and after the prescribed burn.
Prescribed fire burns rapidly up a mountain slope.© Parks Canada Topography - Physical features on the landscape are also taken into consideration when planning a prescribed burn. Steeper slopes result in faster rates of spread. South facing slopes receive more sunshine, resulting in drier fuels and greater potential for quick ignition and rapid fire spread. Topography can also help contain fire, since rocky areas are natural barriers to fire.
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Prescribed Burn - Images
Fires, both wild and prescribed, create mosaics of burned, partially burned, and unburned areas that support a diverse and healthy ecosystem. © Parks Canada
After the prescribed burn - Parks Canada continually monitors many of these burned areas to determine whether short and long-term goals were met. Prescribed burning will continue in Banff National Park as a means to replicate the beneficial role wildfires have played in our forest ecosystem.
A new plant grows in the nutrient rich ash in the Fairholme range prescribed burn area. © Parks Canada 
With more sunlight reaching the forest floor, animals such as elk can take advantage of increased amounts of grass. © Parks Canada How do our forest look today?
Snapshots of forest regeneration after a fire.
Left: Sawback Range, Bow Valley Parkway, Banff National Park, 2005; regeneration since the 1993 Sawback prescribed burn.
Centre: Vermillion Pass Fireweed Trail, Kootenay National Park, 2005; regeneration since a lighting fire in 1968.
Right: Fairholme Range, Banff National Park, 2005; regeneration since the 2003 Fairholme Range prescribed burn.
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Fuel Breaks
This fuel break was created on the lower slopes of Sulphur Mountain to protect nearby facilities from the threat of wildfire.© Parks CanadaWildfires are primarily contained by natural barriers such as rock ridges, bodies of water and recently buned areas. However, where communities exist in fire prone areas, land managers must supplement these natural barriers with fuel breaks or fire guards. Fuel breaks are usually wide strips of land where the amount of fuel has been reduced by removing dense understory vegetation, prunning lower tree limbs and removing dead and downed wood. Fuel breaks are starategically placed to better control the spread of wild and prescribed fires.
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Fuel Breaks - Carrot Creek
Aerial view of the Carrot Creek fuel break along the Fairholme Range.© Parks CanadaThe Carrot Creek fuel break was created to help contain the Fairholme Range prescibed burn. Forests were thinned and understory fuels were burned in the fuel break prior to ignition of the main burn unit. Covering approximately 300 hectares, the fuel break also helps to reduce the risk of wildfires spreading east of the park boundary into the communities of Harvie Heights and Canmore.
Fuel Breaks - Facility Protection
This Carrot Creek fuel break in Banff National Park provides wildfire protection to the communities of Harvie Heights and Canmore.© Parks Canada 
Initial Attack crew member cutting down a tree in efforts to thin a heavily wooded area.© Parks Canada In areas where important facilities and wildlife features exist, fuel reduction can be used to minimize the risk of damage from wild or prescribed fire. During the Fairholme Range prescribed burn, facilities such as the Minnewanka day use area, Two Jack Campground, and important wolf denning habitat underwent some form of fuel reduction.
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Fuel Breaks - Wildland Urban Interface
A fire specialist burns a pile of trees thinned from around a Banff neighbourhood.© Parks CanadaHow are communities in forested areas protecting themselves from wildfire? The Town of Banff, Canmore and Harvie Hights are prime examples of wildland-urban-interface areas. These communities are surrounded by forests at risk for wildfire. This risk is on the increase due to global climate change and fire suppression activities throughout the last century that have created old, dense forests vulnerable to wildfire.
Parks Canada is working with the Town of Banff, the Province of Alberta, and various other organizations on a fuel reduction plan to protect facilities within or close to the park.