Burns Bog will take decades to regrow: conservationist

DELTA (NEWS 1130) – It’s been one week since that massive fire gutted parts of Burns Bog in Delta and now we’re learning it will take decades for it return to its normal state.

The regrowth process is a slow one because the peat grows only a couple of millimetres a year.

Eliza Olson with the Burns Bog Conservation Society says that means it won’t look the same for a long time. “From what I’ve been getting, it’ll take up to 100 years for it to get back to where it was today.”

She adds fires are a natural phenomenon in bogs, often simmering out of sight for a while, yet through all this there is a silver lining. “It’s also Mother Nature’s way to also get rid of invasive plant[s]. It’s a good news, bad news thing.”

This fire grew to more than 75 hectares, forcing the temporary closure of Highway 17 with crews from across the region attacking the flames from both land and air.

The cause is still under investigation and the soggy land, given its proximity to the Fraser River, did make it challenging for firefighters.

Burns Bog is said to be the largest undeveloped urban wilderness land in all of North America.

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