City of Toronto to conduct annual prescribed burn at High Park on Tuesday
Posted April 8, 2024 11:51 am.
Last Updated April 8, 2024 11:59 am.
The City of Toronto will hold its annual traditional, controlled burn in parts of High Park on Tuesday, resulting in rotating closures and a large amount of smoke.
Between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., crews with specialized training will be deployed throughout High Park. They will focus, in particular, on the northeast and central parts of the massive greenspace.
The burn will see parts of the park temporarily closed to pedestrians and cyclists (typically in 30-to-45-minute periods). Public vehicular access will also be suspended starting at 7 a.m. and access will reopen in the evening.
The @cityoftoronto will be holding its annual burn at High Park between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Officials released this map showing areas where burns will be occurring.
Background: https://t.co/mvaDAJ4ebD#Toronto #HighPark pic.twitter.com/Hs2t4gvmHT
— Nick Westoll (@NWestoll) April 8, 2024
While the smoke should billow upwards, officials said weather conditions could cause it to drift into nearby residential neighbourhoods. Anyone in the area with asthma or higher sensitivity to poison ivy is encouraged to stay inside with the windows closed.
As crews walk through the park, dried leaves, twigs and grass are set to burn gently while reducing invasive plant species. Officials said the city’s rare black oak savannah ecosystem, which is concentrated in Toronto’s west end, has plants that “respond positively to burning and that grow more vigorously than they would in the absence of fire.”
The City of Toronto started doing burns at High Park in 1997, but the practice dates back hundreds of years when Indigenous people would use fire for agricultural land clearing, attracting wildlife and rejuvenation of medicinal plants.
The last burn was held on April 13, 2023.
