Wildfire crews in southeastern British Columbia hope to make short work of a blaze that broke out late Tuesday and burned within a few hundred metres of the hospital in Trail.
The Kootenay Boundary Regional District says four BC Wildfire Service air tankers, a helicopter and a total of 36 firefighters from local fire halls and the wildfire service “aggressively fought the blaze” and made good progress by nightfall.
The wildfire service says the roughly two hectare fire followed the slope away from Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital and the facility is not considered threatened but crews kept a close watch overnight.
READ MORE: Fire breaks out near Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail
A post on the regional district’s website says those with less urgent medical needs were sent for treatment in Castlegar on Tuesday evening, but staff at the hospital say regular access has resumed.
No evacuation orders or alerts were issued, although only local traffic is being allowed on the road up to the hospital and trails through the area also remain closed.
A cause of the wildfire has not been determined but dry lightning moved across the city on Tuesday and the Trail area is within one of the few sections of the province still listed at a moderate to high risk of a blaze.
The Canadian Press
