Firefighters battled a large blaze at a commercial recycling yard in downtown Victoria on Friday night.
Viewer video sent to CHEK News shows first responders arriving at the Ellice Recycle commercial yard in the 500-block of John Street around 6 p.m.
Dark smoke and intense flames could be seen coming from the recycle yard in the 500-block of John Street.
In a social media post, the Victoria Fire Department said flames were reaching heights of nine metres (30 feet) when firefighters arrived.
Windy conditions also sent smoke billowing into the air, which could be seen from several parts of the city.
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- Viewers near Save on Foods also saw heavy smoke from the area. (Submitted)
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- Smoke was visible from the Gorge waterway. (Submitted)
Victoria Fire Battalion Chief Scott McQueen says the call came shortly before 6 p.m. by a foreman of the recycle yard who was a couple of blocks away when he saw smoke.
McQueen says the gates to the recycle facility were closed, and no staff were present when the fire started.
Fire crews found the blaze burning among organic garbage, and no hazardous materials burned.
Roughly five fire teams were dispatched to the fire, which was burning just three metres (10 feet) from a pile of lumber, according to the fire department.
The fire was contained quickly, and the cause is under investigation.
The fire department adds that it’s grateful to Ellice Recycle staff, who contacted an excavator operator to help move combustible material away from the fire site.
The location of Friday night’s fire is fairly close to three other recent fires, two confirmed as arson and another that is deemed suspicious, that police are investigating.
While a fire investigation is still underway, Victoria police tell CHEK News that the fire department does not believe Friday’s fire Ellice Recycle was suspicious.
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