The hot and dry conditions have led to an abundance of calls for Nanaimo Fire Rescue.
Over the past nine days, crews have responded to 10 brush fires.
The string of fires began in mid-August when a vehicle fire quickly spread to surrounding bushes on Port Drive. High temperatures and high winds caused the fire to spread and put many neighbours on high alert.
This fire is considered suspicious, along with many other recent blazes.
Fortunately, most of the fires Nanaimo Fire Rescue responds to are put out quickly, leaving just charred brush and grass.
Fire officials are pleading with people to be more cautious. Nanaimo Assistant Fire Chief Troy Libbus says some fires are naturally caused, but many are manmade.
“A lot of fires are caused by discarded smoking material … so we need to be really cognizant as a person in a vehicle to put it in your ashtray. That’s fire smart. That prevents fires and keeps the resources close in the community so we can respond to other calls,” said Libbus.
Libbus added that if anyone wants to know what they can do to take preventative fire measures, they can go to the FireSmart BC website for more information.
While not all of the recent bushfires are suspicious, those that are have been sent to Nanaimo RCMP for further investigation.
Tchadas Leo
