Elephant Hill Fire

The Elephant Hill Fire was one of the largest fires of the 2017 wildfire season in British Columbia. It devastated a large area in the Bonaparte and Deadman River watersheds, burning 192, 725 hectares over 75 days. 

After the fire, the most affected Secwépemc communities came together to collaborate with the provincial government to co-manage the restoration of the land and forest affected by the fire. It was from this process that the SRSS was born. 

The Bonaparte and Deadman rivers and their tributaries, which were heavily burnend, provide essential habitat to Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead trout, rainbow trout, Kokanee, and other important fish species. 

The fire burned some areas so intensely that tree seeds buried in the soil and sealed in cones were destroyed, leaving these areas incapable of regenerating naturally. Some of these forests that require assistance to recover are alongside streams and rivers and provide a vital function to the health of the aquatic ecosystem. Severely burned riparian forests are the first priority for SRSS restoration work.