The fire at Fort Rodd Hill late Wednesday afternoon is suspected to be caused by a person or people in the area.
Colwood Fire responded with the help of the BC Wildfire Service.
“BC Wildfire Service assisted with an initial attack crew and helicopter just to sort of establish the hose lay and get containment,” said Gordon Robinson, Information Officer with the Coastal Fire Centre. “Colwood Fire Department has been doing a great job with it since then and they’ve now got it wrapped up there.”
Elsewhere across parts of the Island today, there was a noticeable haze from fires in the interior and on the Island.
Two main fires are still burning here, a 25-hectare blaze near Nimpkish River north of Gold River and a 40-hectare fire burning on Vancouver Island’s tallest mountain.
“The Golden Hinde fire is in even worse terrain,” added Robinson. “It’s up on the shoulder of the highest mountain on Vancouver Island. So it’s very steep, cliffy, dangerous so right now it’s just being monitored by being flown regularly to check on it.”
CHEK News has been told if the fire reaches certain trigger points suppression efforts will begin.
The BC Wildfire Service said Thursday many of its weather stations across the Coastal Fire Centre were reporting temperatures in the mid 30s with low humidity, the perfect recipe for aggressive fire behaviour.
“Don’t be complacent, be careful out there. Obviously obey the campfire and open burning prohibitions but even if you’re doing something out there that isn’t directly open fire, if you’re using a power tool and it strikes a rock, it might spark or if you’re using a machine that will have a hot manifold or something like that please be careful,” Robinson said.
“Keep water and a shovel handy, if you’re using equipment like that make sure you stay around for awhile afterwards to make sure there aren’t any fire starts.”
There will be a reprieve for a few days with cooler temperatures and a chance of showers starting Friday before temperatures heat up again next week.
Dean Stoltz
