An early morning fire at Beaver Lodge Forest Lands was contained quickly, thanks to the joint efforts of Campbell River Fire and the BC Wildfire Service.
According to fire chief Thomas Doherty, firefighters responded to the brush fire at around 6:30 am today (Wednesday).
“We got a call early this morning,” deputy fire chief Kelly Bellefleur tells My Campbell River Now. “Runners reported that there was smoke in Beaver Lodge Lands.”
Bellefleur says fire crews hiked into the bush off Airport Main. They found the fire, measuring around 40’ X 40’, burning in and around a stump. It was burning at ‘Rank 1’, which means it was a ‘moving ground fire’.
It took a big crew, lots of hose, and help from BC Wildfire Service to get things under control, Bellefleur notes.
Because Beaver Lodge Lands is Provincial Crown Land, BC Wildfire crews were called in to assist. They attended, helping contain and extinguish the blaze.
“We sent an officer and four firefighters,” says Coastal fire information officer Dorthe Jakobsen. “It was called out at 8:58 this morning.”
While there’s no word on the cause of the fire at this time, Jakobsen is reminding islanders to be ‘extra careful’ when handling anything that could spark a fire.
“A fire could start really quickly and spread really quickly,” she says.
“We’re messaging out very strongly that the responsibility of everyone in the Coastal area right now is to exercise a high degree of due diligence, so we’re not the source of an avoidable fire,” Jakobsen says. “This is how we can help with the State of Emergency and the efforts in the interior, and keep each other safe.”
With this in mind, Jakobsen’s reminding drivers to refrain from flicking cigarette butts out the window. She says it’s a good idea to have a spark arrestor and water on hand as well.
She continues, “I think we’re on day 42 of no rain here on the coast. Very unusual and there’s no relief in site. We’re very concerned about that, asking the public to be very, very careful. Even glass left out in the sun could magnify and set something on fire. People need to be very cautious.”
