A small fire on North Rendezvous Island is the first wildfire of the season in the Campbell River area. Officials are asking people to take caution when burning during these dry conditions. BC Wildfire Dashboard

‘Conditions are tricky at the moment’ warns Coastal Fire Centre

Small fire on North Rendezvous Island first of the season for Campbell River area

  • Apr. 15, 2021 12:00 a.m.

The wildfire season has begun in the area around Campbell River with a small brush fire on North Rendezvous Island on Wednesday.

The fire was extinguished quickly by the homeowner and the Coast Guard, who reported it to B.C. Wildfire Service. B.C. Wildfire Service did not attend the fire.

North Rendezvous Island is a small island just north of Read Island and to the east of Maurelle Island.

Though it was small, Coastal Fire Centre staff want to remind people to be careful when burning, especially due to the drying trend and warm weather that the coast has been experiencing lately.

“We just put a post out online yesterday about the coastal area and parts of Cariboo and Kamloops are in a drying trend at the moment, and we’re quite concerned about that,” said Dorthe Jakobsen, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre. “The public should be very careful if they’re doing any open fire activities.”

Though there is no prohibitions currently on open burning, the low humidity and wind can cause grass to dry out quickly, making it susceptible to fire.

“Now that it’s starting to warm up a little bit, people might be thinking about that (having a fire pit,)” she said. “We just want to put the word out there that conditions are tricky at the moment and people should be very cautious.”

Three other small wildfires have occurred on Vancouver Island so far this year, but all have been declared out by Coastal Fire Service.

RELATED: B.C.’s wildfire season begins with two suspected human-caused wildfires in the interior

Free wildfire training at NIC’s Campbell River campus starting in March


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