A petition with around 200 signatures of concerned taxpayers so far is asking for a preventative emergency measure forest maintenance program to deal with fir beetle infected trees in the South Canim Lake area. The area was affected by wildfires over the summer. The letter/petition states there are over 200 infected trees in a one-hectare area, according to an assessment by Canim Lake First Nations forester John Kalmokoff. Irene McKerlich is organizing the petition and lives in south Canim Lake. She says she volunteered to write the letter after a meeting local residents had. “It’s our area, we had a fire two kilometres from us. Yeah, we’re concerned. If you look at the mountains and see all the red trees it’s kinda like, you just need a lightning strike right and poof it goes again.”