A brush fire jumped a logging road and burned over a hectare and a half this past week south of Nanaimo.
Extension Fire Department, with assistance from Cranberry Fire Department, worked almost 10 hours to extinguish the fire in the 600 block of Nanaimo River Road on Thursday, April 16.
Crews got the call at about 2:30 a.m. and arrived to see the surface fire in an existing logging slash.
“There was actually two sections that were burning,” said Kevin Young, Extension fire chief. “There was a little logging road and there was another section across the logging road that was burning as well, so it jumped the logging road.”
He estimated the fire was about 300 metres from the nearest structure, and the wind was blowing in that direction, so crews focused their attack accordingly. Firefighters were at the property until about noon.
Young said although there were expended flares at the scene, fire crews couldn’t connect that as a cause and he would say only that the fire was suspicious. He said there aren’t any encampments there, but firefighters have been to that area about four times in the last year or so. He said the homeowner has been helpful in trying to work with firefighters.
“There’s activities around there that need to be addressed,” Young said.
He said this is early in the season for wildfires, but said they can happen due to the conditions.
“It’s going to be something we’re going to be monitoring into the summer time and we have our bylaws in place as well as the ministry [fire orders] as well,” he said.
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