Firefighters put out grass fire east of Grand Forks

Firefighters put out a grass fire on Highway 3, between Grand Forks and Christina Lake, Wednesday afternoon, July 28.

The fire broke out at around 4 p.m., spreading quickly across a lightly treed hillside sloping away from the south side of the highway, roughly near the intersection of Gilpin Creek Forest Service Road.

A BC Wildfire Service firefighter walks away from a freshly downed tree at the scene of Wednesday’s grassfire. Photo: Laurie Tritschler

Volunteer firefighters from Grand Forks Fire/Rescue (GFFR) joined the BC Wildfire Service’s (BCWS) Boundary Initial Attack Crew in attacking the flames. An overhead BCWS helicopter meanwhile set about dumping buckets of water scooped from the Kettle River further to the south.

Grand Forks Fire/Rescue volunteers put water on the fire. Photo: Laurie Tritschler

The fire was contained by 5 p.m., according to GFFR’s Dep. Chief Stephane Dionne.

It remains for BCWS investigators to determine what caused the fire. Dionne said he would assist in their investigation.

A BC Wildfire Service firefighter calls out to a colleague out of frame. Photo: Laurie Tritschler

No homes were damaged in the fire and no one was hurt, Dionne said.

Dionne is urging the public to be fire safe as Grand Forks and surrounding areas head into this summer’s third heatwave. If you smoke, dump water on your spent cigarette butts, he said. Motorists are meanwhile advised not to idle their vehicles on grass, including motorcycles and lawnmowers.

Motorists are further reminded to obey highway flaggers at emergency scenes.

@ltritsch1 laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.