Extra help was called in on Thursday (April 1) after a controlled slash burn, conducted at a woodlot on Lynx Road in Bowser, began to spread when winds picked up.
The BC Coastal Fire Services was notified as the area (which included the Lighthouse Country Regional Trail) was under its jurisdiction. It authorized the Bow Horn Bay Volunteer Fire Department to help extinguish the blaze.
“We ended up with multiple fires, separated throughout the same woodlot,” said Fire Chief Clayton Bucovic. “We called in Dashwood Fire Department for extra help. We devised a plan for quick suppression (and) the two fire departments were able to knock it down before it had the chance of really getting out of control.”
A total of 17 firefighters from both fire departments battled the fire and it took them more than two hours to contain it, said Bucovic.
“We were able to put it out manually fighting the fires and with water pumps,” he said. “We worked in teams to put out different spots that the fire was taking place.”
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Bucovic said they did have a moment of urgency when the fire threatened to spread to the trail located opposite the woodlot, separated by a road.
“The sparks and ash from the embers from the fire were going over into the Lighthouse trail side of the road,” Bucovic described. “We did extinguish everything close to that roadway first so it wouldn’t go over the trail. And we evacuated the trail as well.”
Workers at the woodlot said Bucovic also assisted, using a huge excavator to douse some of the fire.
The Bow Horn department is seeking for more volunteers. Anyone wishing to be a member can call the hall at 250-757-9433 or stop by the hall during training on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. It is located at 220 Lions Way, Qualicum Bay.
