A fire in East Sooke Park is suspected to have been caused by a campfire, according to the East Sooke Volunteer Fire Department.
Jason Humphries, deputy chief of East Sooke Volunteer Fire Department says crews are in the final stages of the response at O’Brien Point.
“They did find a campfire ring in that immediate area, so that’ll be the recorded cause,” Humphries told CHEK News. “[Crews are] just in their final stages of like stretching hoses back and they’re still on scene, but they’re the fire is essentially out.”
The fire was initially reported by a charter boat, and Humphries says the location was difficult for crews to get to.
“When those things get reported by boat there’s some room for error for where exactly it is,” Humphries said. “Luckily, they used a waypoint finder to track it. [Crews] had to go down a few walking trails, rocky walking trails, I think it took them 45 minutes to an hour to actually reach the spot, even knowing where it was.”
Humphries says the fire is about an acre in size and the cause is unknown at this time.
In a post on Facebook, Stephanie Dunlop, Metchosin’s fire chief, says crews have established a perimeter control of the fire.
“Crews currently responding mutual aid to a small brush fire in East Sooke Park,” the post on Facebook says. “Fire is reported as 200′ x 300′ – crews have established a perimeter control.”
This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available.
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Laura Brougham
