Burns Bog revitalization may have helped curb blaze

Burns Bog, the nature conservancynow ablazesoutheast of Vancouver, hasbeen called the lungs of B.C.'sLower Mainland.

The spongymossblanketing the bog'speatlandsin the 3,000-hectare conservation areaacts assome of the world's most efficient carbon dioxide absorbers.

It's also great at resisting fire, saidMikeWaddington, a professor inMcMasterUniversity's school of geography and earth sciences.

Community efforts more than a decade agoto save and restore the beloved boglikely left it healthier and better able to resist a wildfire, experts say.

• Delta Burns Bog fire 50 per cent contained

"Peat bogs store a lot of carbon," Waddington said.

"Because they're wet and generally quite cool.they can store a lot, take a lot of C02 from the atmosphere."

The keyingredientis the thick, moistsphagnummoss, which blankets the peat.

"There is actually more carbon stored in sphagnummoss than any other species, more than the rain forest," Waddington said.

"Peatlands globally are really important for that."

The moss is also great at resisting fire, Waddington said, making fires much easier to put fires out.

Bogs as fire barriers

In a research paper published last month, Waddington argued that bogs that had been drained are vulnerable to catastrophic deep burns that can last for months.

The paper, published in Nature Scientific Reports, said that peat bogs can act as fire barriers and mitigate wildfire threats.

"The argument in our research is to keep peat wet," Waddington said.

In Delta, Burns Bog attracts migratory birds, such as the sandhillcraneand is home to rare plants and berries.

For years, the land was used for peat mining and farming, which drained the bog of moisture.Peat is used as a fertilizer and burned as a heat source.

Then,In 2004, the vast majority of Burns Bog was transformed into a 2,000 hectare ecological conservancy area, followingnegotiations between multiple levels of government to purchase the land for $72 million and protect it.

Delta officials on Monday noted that water levels in the bog are higher than they were a decade ago, which was helping firefighting efforts.

By mid-afternoon, the fire was 50 per cent contained.Officials said they were making progress against the blazeestimatedat just under 80 hectares in size.