Wildfire fuel management in Whistler

The Resort Municipality of Whistler has been conducting wildfire vegetation management (also known as fuel thinning) projects on Crown and municipal lands since 2004 to reduce the risk of wildfire to our community. The primary goal  is to reduce forest fuel loads within the wildland-urban interface to reduce the ability of fire to spread from the forest into the community and vice versa, and to make wildfires easier to fight. Fuel thinning will be discontinued when the fire hazard goes to extreme and will resume when the fire hazard is lower. 

Sometimes projects need to burn some of the wood debris. We will alert the public through social media. There is no need to report smoke from fuel thinning projects.

Current projects

Highway 99 treatment unit 1D: near Whistler Golf Course and Whistler Way/Panorama Ridge

Starting the week of May 4 through to mid-June, we will manage vegetation in treatment unit 1D. This unit is located along the west side of Highway 99 by the Whistler Golf Club, as well as on the east side of Highway 99 between Whistler Way and Panorama Ridge. See the map below. During this work, there will be temporary detours and/or intermittent trail closures on the Valley Trail network. See the below maps for Valley Trail impacts for Zone A and Zone B.

Highway 99 treatment unit 2D: near Whistler Golf Course and Panorama Ridge/Alta Vista Works Yard

Starting the week of May 6 to mid-June, we will manage vegetation in treatment unit 2D. This unit is located along the west side of Highway 99 by the Whistler Golf Club, as well as on the east side of Highway 99 adjacent to the golf driving range and between Panorama Ridge and the Alta Vista Public Works Yard (see the map below). During this work, there will be temporary detours and/or intermittent trail closures on the Valley Trail network. See the below maps for Valley Trail impacts for TU-1D Zone A and Zone B.

Highway 99 treatment unit 2B: Nicklaus North Boulevard / Cypress Place to Mons Crossing

Starting June 1 for approximately two weeks, we will manage vegetation along both sides of Highway 99 from Nicklaus North Boulevard/Cypress Place to Mons Crossing. Please see the map below for treatment area TU-2B. During this work, there may be temporary delays on Highway 99 and local roads. There will also be temporary detours and/or intermittent trail closures on the Valley Trail network. See the maps below for Valley Trail information.

Alta Lake Road (north)

We are managing vegetation in partnership with the Cheakamus Community Forest to reduce wildfire risk along the north end of Alta Lake Road.

Work is now complete in the area shown as unit 1 on the map below; trails in this area are now open.

Work has begun in unit 2 (see map below) and temporary closures are in place for the following trails: Barts Dart Trail, River Runs Through It Access Trail and A River Runs Through It. It is expected that these trails will remain closed until late May.

Work has recently begun in unit 5 (see map below); temporary trail closures are in place in this area, including the trail Get Over It.

Please respect all signs and staff for safety reasons because there will be machinery operating and tree falling. Trails will be restored following the work.

Vegetation management schedule:

Unit 1 – Complete.

Unit 2 – Mid-April through June. Bart’s Dark Trail will be closed for the duration of work. River Runs Through It (north) and Bart’s Dark Trail are closed and are diverted to Alta Lake Road. The River Runs Through It Access Trail may experience temporary closures.

Unit 3 – Potential summer start (wildfire risk and crew availability permitting) for two to three weeks. Affects Bob’s Rebob and Billy Epic trails with intermittent closures.

Unit 4 – Late March through June. Get Over It and Nectar Connector will have two to three days of full closures during falling/yarding operations, then intermittent closures when yarding trees near trails.

Unit 5 – May 4 start for approximately three weeks. A temporary trail closure is in place for Get Over It. Work also requires temporary/intermittent closures for the gravel pit access road down from Alta Lake Road to the pit (not Emerald Forest section).

16 Mile Road

The Cheakamus Community Forest (CCF) and RMOW are partnering on this wildfire management project at 16 Mile Valley, above The Adventure Group (TAG) base area. Operations will begin in autumn 2026 and continue as long as weather/snow conditions allow, resuming in spring 2027. The CCF and RMOW are also in close contact with TAG to understand their operations logistics and minimize impacts to their business

More details to follow.

What will the vegetation look like after fuel management?

Completed fuel management projects

We’ve completed fuel management work in the following areas:

• Highway 99 treatment unit 1C: east side near the Spruce Grove subdivision and Whistler Village

• Highway 99 treatment unit 1B near Rainbow and Alpine Meadows

• Highway 99 treatment units 1A and 2A near Emerald Estates
• Stonebridge, 2025
• Emerald west and Brio extension, 2025
• Whistler Cemetery, 2025
• Emerald west, 2024
• Brio, 2024
• Brio extension, 2024
• Panorama Ridge Brio, 2023
• Kadenwood Gondola, 2023
• Riverside Cheakamus Crossing, 2023
• Rainbow 1 neighbourhood project, 2023
• Cheakamus Lake Road Fuel Treatment, 2021
• Cheakamus Lake Road, 2020
• Spruce Grove/Lost Lake Park, 2019-20
• Nesters Hill, 2020
• High school site fuel thinning
• Taluswood wildfire fuel thinning, 2021-22
• Rainbow 2, 2022

Process and goals

Vegetation management focuses on leaving mature and deciduous trees, while removing ground brush and debris, pruning lower branches, and removing tight, unmanaged second growth trees. This is accomplished by:

• Reducing the number of trees in the stand to open the upper tree canopy and reduce ability of fire to move from tree to tree;
• Focusing on removal of small diameter trees and retaining fire-resistant species such as old growth, Douglas-fir and deciduous trees;
• Reduce fine woody surface debris, while retaining larger coarse woody debris for habitat and soil productivity;
• Pruning trees to reduce ladder fuels between the ground and the forest crown; and
• Removing dangerous trees to protect workers, while maintaining high value wildlife trees where possible.

In addition to reducing forest fuel loads, secondary objectives are to protect critical infrastructure and facilities in Whistler, restore open forest conditions and demonstrate the principles and practices of the FireSmart program.

Wildfire fuel treatments: monitoring program

Since 2022, the RMOW has been monitoring our forest fuel treatments (PDF) to see how they impact wildfire risk and forest health. Results over the past 4 years show that fuel treatments significantly reduce extreme wildfire behaviour and maintain healthy, more fire-resilient forests.

Fuel treatments reduce wildfire risk by changing how fire behaves through managing flammable forest fuels, such as dead trees, low branches and dense vegetation. Treated forests are a bit warmer and drier than untreated forests but they have a much lower fire risk.

Removing forest fuel significantly reduces wildfire risk in our forests. Big trees stay healthy and smaller trees initially grow faster in treated areas, thanks to more light, space and nutrients. At each of the 60 monitoring plots across six sites, treated forests are far less likely to experience dangerous crown fires, with predicted fire behaviour staying within levels that firefighters can manage.

Fuel treatments reduce extreme wildfire behaviour and help protect the Whistler community by:

• Creating forests that are more fire resilient;
• Significantly reducing extreme fire behaviour across forest type; and
• Maintaining healthy, naturally regenerating forests.

Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan: update now underway

Our Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (PDF) (CWRP) is Whistler’s overall strategic plan for reducing wildfire risk. In February 2026, we began the process of updating the 2022 CWRP, with completion planned for early 2027. The new CWRP will be implemented over the next 5-10 years.

The key strategies of the 2022 CWRP include:

• Education
• Community planning, legislation & development considerations
• Interagency cooperation
• Training and cross-training
• Emergency planning and preparedness
• Vegetation management

Wildfires know no boundaries with respect to jurisdiction and land ownership. As such, collaboration is key when it comes to mitigating the risks of wildfires. The CWRP update will engage key local and regional partners to ensure a coordinated and collaborative approach. Bringing partners together builds shared ownership and helps ensure that the CWRP reflects local knowledge, works across relevant partners’ regulatory and operational jurisdiction, and improves wildfire preparedness across the whole community.

Vegetation management is a key component of Whistler’s CWRP. The updated CWRP will integrate wildfire fuel treatment history and landscape-level wildfire threat modeling to ensure that future actions are strategic, scientifically informed and targeted for the greatest impact in safeguarding the community.

Stay tuned for more information on this project over the summer.

Related files

Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan (PDF)

Fuel Treatment Monitoring Program – 2025 (PDF)