A contractor for the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is set to begin thinning trees and underbrush in the Blackcomb Benchlands on Sept. 13 as part of the community’s wildfire protection strategy.

The project, which is being funded by the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the provincial government, is part of the municipality’s plan to reduce the risk of forest threatening structures and vice-versa, municipal officials said in a statement issued on Wednesday (Sept. 1).

The planned Benchlands project is similar to one that was carried out in Kadenwood in late 2009 and early 2010. Work will include the removal of some trees, underbrush and the lower limbs of trees to reduce the possibility of forest fires getting into the forest canopy and spreading quickly, officials said.

Thinning out underbrush also makes it easier for firefighters to move around if a fire should occur, and opening up spaces in the forest is beneficial to a wide variety of animals, officials said.

Work on the Benchlands thinning project is expected to continue until the snow flies this fall and resume in the spring.