Wildfire Fuel Mitigation
Source: PEI Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025), pp. 29–30
What it is
Wildfire fuel mitigation reduces the amount and flammability of fuel on a property. If a fire does start, it burns less intensely and is easier to manage.
- Target: coniferous trees.
- Purpose: reduce the risk, danger and losses to homes, communities and infrastructure where wildfire is a threat.
- Limit: it cannot remove all risk. Forest and grassland always carry some.
Eligibility
- Conifer stands near structures: covertypes that are more than 50% softwood, with live crowns over 50%, within 100 m of a structure.
- Dead or dying conifers: standing softwood within 100 m that is in severe decline or dead also qualifies, even though it fails the live-crown test.
- Blowdown: any site, whatever its species, qualifies if a qualified forest professional determines severe blowdown has increased the risk.
Structures include homes, storage areas and sheds, communities, and any other fire-susceptible infrastructure that would benefit.
Hardwood-dominated stands already act as natural fuel breaks and don’t need treatment.
Standards and assessment
How it’s done. Work is usually small-scale: a chainsaw, plus a brush saw for smaller stems.
| Measure | Standard |
|---|---|
| Spacing | Space conifers so their crowns are 2–3 m apart |
| Pruning | Prune conifers from the ground up to 2 m |
| Cut material | Limb and buck all brush and cut trees, and gather them into central piles |
| What to leave | Hardwoods, woody shrubs and ground vegetation don’t need treatment |
Getting the fuel off the site. Every pile has to leave the site, by one of these routes:
- burned in a controlled way;
- hauled away for chipping, biomass or timber, where piece size allows;
- moved to an area where a fire would not threaten structures.
Burning safely:
- Have suppression equipment on hand: back tanks, hand tools, a laid-out hose line, or a muskeg tracked carrier.
- Winter burning is an option, when fire risk is much lower.
- Place burn piles where flames and radiant heat won’t burn or scorch surrounding trees and vegetation.
Protecting the residual stand:
- Don’t fell trees into other trees.
- When pruning, don’t cut into the cambium under the bark.
- If hauling material out, use machinery small enough that it doesn’t need a dedicated path and doesn’t damage the ground.
Based on the PEI Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025), pp. 29–30. Where this guide and the manual differ, the manual governs.