On the afternoon of Sunday, Apr. 12, residents in the Heffley Creek area of Knouff Lake Road found themselves unexpectedly fighting a potential wildfire that had started on the Sun Hill Ranch.
“I went out to feed the cows at 8 a.m., then drove back to the house at around 10 a.m. through the field where we have a designated burn pile spot,” tells 77-year-old rancher Eric Bergstrand, “I threw a couple of feed sacks on the pile as I went past, and not worrying about them burning as I couldn’t see any smoke there at all.”
Bergstrand says the burn pile sits about 500 feet from a hay shed, and about 40 feet away from a shed with metal roofing where three antique cars had been stored for 40 years.
Bergstrand says many of his family members were also on site helping to fight the fire and trying to save some of the buildings including the hay shed.
“There was a sawmill next to the shed with a pile of slabs and poles stored there, and they had all started to burn,” told the rancher.
He also noted there was no water in close proximity to the fire so he had to hook up a hose and fill a fuel tank and then haul it up to where the fire was blazing away. “It took forever to get that tank filled and the water up there!”
“They finally got the sawmill out and saved the hay barn next to it,” told Bergstrand, “The shed with the antique cars was completely destroyed.”
“I have to thank the Forest Service who were called and responded very quickly,” told the rancher, “When they arrived they worked until 2 o’clock in the morning putting a fire guard around the fire area and keeping an eye on it until it burned itself out. We had to watch it for a day and a half to make sure it went out completely. I want to thank everyone for coming out and helping to put out the fire. I sure appreciated it.”
Bergstrand says he is sorry that his three antique cars were lost. “The shed with the antique cars was completely destroyed, the metal roof fell in on top of the cars, and the fire got so hot the springs melted right down to the axles. I had a 1931 Chevy five window business coupe, a Roadster pickup with a convertible top, and a 1951 Plymouth.”
He purchased the 1931 Chevy when he was just 16 years old from a fellow who had paid $650 for it brand new off the Trapp Motors lot in New Westminster. At that time the Chevy still had the original tires on it. He had offered the owner $160 to purchase it, “and got to drive it home”. Then he used the vehicle “for anything and everything”. Even for hauling home new dairy calves in the comfort of the trunk. When he finally parked the Chevy for the last time in the shed it only had 21,000 miles on it.
“I was really looking forward to restoring and driving those old cars,” said the rancher, “But I would have sooner kept the sawmill than the cars.”
“I feel stupid about the fire,” said Bergstrand, “I saw no smoke in that pit and just assumed there was no fire.”
However, Bergstrand says there is a lesson to be learned here, “Where there is smoke there might still be fire. There must have been something down in the ground, and I guess when the wind came up in the afternoon it started burning and then took off and into the buildings. I want other people to learn from my mistake. They have to pay attention – you can never be too careful with old burn piles.”
