The Forest Practices Board says a prescribed burn during the 2023 Downton Lake wildfire near Gun Lake was "reasonable, given circumstances and the threat the wildfire posed to the area."

The board released the results of its investigation Tuesday (May 13) into a complaint about the BC Wildfire Service's use of planned ignitions in the wildfire. The complaint was submitted by three Gun Lake residents.

"We recognize the devastating losses experienced by the people and community of Gun Lake," board chair Keith Atkinson said. "After a thorough review, we found that BC Wildfire Service acted within its legal authority, and its decision to conduct a planned ignition on Aug. 1, 2023, was reasonable given the circumstances and the threat the wildfire posed to the area."

The Downton Lake wildfire, which was caused by lightning was discovered on July 13, 2023. It began on the north side of the lake, about 10 kilometres west of Gold Bridge. It became part of the Bendor Range Complex, which included the Casper Creek, Blackhills and
Stein Mountain wildfires.

The complaint raised concerns that a planned ignition by BC Wildfire Service on Aug. 1, 2023 "contributed to the destruction of more than 40 homes" on the west side of the lake. Gun Lake is about 100 kilometres west of Lillooet and covers about 15 square kilometres between the base of Mount Penrose, Downton Lake and Carpenter Lake.

The Forest Practices Board was tasked with assessing whether the wildfire service complied with the Wildfire Act and if its decision to use a planned ignition near the complainants' properties was reasonable, given the conditions at the time.

The board found BC Wildfire Service complied with the act and the decision for the ignition "in this emergency situation was based on sound forest practices and a reasonable assessment of the wildfire threat."

The investigation also determined that BC Wildfire Service conducted the planned ignition "because officials believed that without this action, the wildfire would spread to nearly the entire southwestern shoreline of the Lajoie and Gun lakes, with the potential to reach the community of Gold Bridge."

A planned ignition is the deliberate use of fire in an emergency to remove unburned fuel from an area – typically between the control line and the wildfire – in effort to contain the wildfire and make fire suppression efforts more efficient. 

The Forest Practices Board is the province's independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices.