BRAGG CREEK ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION

BCEC Alternative Approach to Wildfire Risk Reduction in Bragg Creek

Wildfire risk remains a growing concern for Bragg Creek residents. We are watching closely as Rocky View County (RVC) and provincial agencies proceed with wildfire risk reduction work while awaiting a decision on the larger proposed community fireguard.

The proposed Bragg Creek community fireguard, on Crown land between Township Road 232 and Highway 66, remains in the planning stage while RVC awaits a final response on its funding application to the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta. An open house on September 28, 2026, gave residents an opportunity to learn more about the proposal and share concerns. No final decision has been made at the time of the writing.

Community support is a key factor in whichever wildfire risk reduction approach is eventually adopted. For residents to have confidence in the process, BCEC has communicated to RVC that any plan should include meaningful public engagement, reasonable timelines, and clear opportunities for local input. Protecting wetlands and the local watershed must also remain central, with work carried out according to best practices, standards, and regulations.

Several recommendations focus on how the work should be carried out if the fireguard proceeds. These include using incinerators rather than open burn piles for slash and non-merchantable timber to reduce smoke impacts on human health; designing the corridor to prevent erosion and sediment from entering wetlands; removing existing deadfall to reduce fuel loads; and establishing a long-term maintenance plan.

BCEC advocates for planting trembling aspen as a lower-maintenance fuel break, instead of relying primarily on pine regeneration in existing and future cut blocks west and southwest of Bragg Creek. Both the Whitehorse South Fuel Break, and a FireSmart fuel break near Nordegg, have used aspen plantings after conifers were cleared, creating a more durable barrier with lower long-term maintenance needs.

This aspen-based approach could offer several benefits for the West Bragg Creek area, including reduced fuel loads, improved biodiversity, greater wildlife habitat, better moisture retention, improved viewscapes, and positive impacts on trails and the watershed.

According to Pelletier et al. (2026), “the bigger the aspen patch, the lower in severity the fire tends to be. Even with higher fire weather, as during the historic 2023 fire season, aspen’s ability to slow fire progression appears stable.”*

For residents, wildfire preparedness is not limited to large landscape projects. FireSmart practices on private properties remain an essential part of community protection. Residents should be supported in reducing branches, deadfall, and other fuels around their homes, and local policies should encourage, rather than discourage, responsible fuel removal as well as the installation of rooftop sprinkler systems, ideally at a reduced cost through municipal and provincial government grants.

As Bragg Creek awaits a final decision on the proposed community fireguard, the broader discussion is shifting toward how wildfire risk reduction can be done in a way that is effective, environmentally responsible, and supported by the community.

Send your feedback to RVC at: fireguard@rockyview.ca.

For further information: www.rockyview.ca/safety-and-enforcement/fire-services/proposed-bragg-creek-community-fireguard

Please check out BCEC’s mission to protect and preserve foothills ecosystems at our website at www.braggcreekenvironmentalcoalition.ca, and consider supporting one of our citizen science initiatives.

*McGill newsroom article www.mcgill.ca/ newsroom/channels/news/mcgill-study-provides- further-evidence-aspen-patches-can- mitigate-wildfires-373441

Link to study: Populus tremuloides as a natural fire barrier in Canada’s boreal forest under a changing climate

Below: Junior Forest Wardens learn mountain biking as part of “Woodstravel”