Some fires along ditch banks are more intense than usual this year as conservation officials try to reduce the reach of an invasive reed.
The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority is flattening phragmites in areas where they have crowded out native species and then burning them.
"It out competes native vegetation, it can create visual safety issues along roads and it is really hard to kill you have to do a combination of things to knock it back," says the LTVCA's Randall Van Wagner.
He says rolling the phragmites results in a more complete burn and when they grow back the new growth can be effectively sprayed and killed.
He says that gives native plants and the animals that depend on them a chance to come back.
"The seed bank has the native seeds in the top layer of soil, so once you take care of the invasive weed the native vegetation comes back on its own."
Van Wagner says the LTVCA prepares fire plans and works with fire departments to ensure the process is safely handled.
