Kootenay fire ramifications

August 23, 2001
Source: CBC Calgary
Original story - link verified on August 23, 2001

Some business owners and tourists are concerned about the timing of the fire which is blowing smoke over parts of Banff national park and as far as Calgary and Edmonton. Officials have been allowing a fire in the Kootenay's to burn since July when it started with a lightning strike. Hotel owner Gurmeet Sidhu says he's getting an earful from tourists. He says parks officials should have done more to put out the fire. 'I think that it is pretty bad that they are doing it and they should of stopped it. If they had wanted to do it they should of done it in wintertime'. Parks officials say letting the fire burn is a natural process. It's happening in an area that was slated for a prescribed burn. Vegetation specialists say fires help keep the forest ecosystem in balance.

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