For the second time in nearly a week, civilians, the Lumby Fire Department and BC Wildfire Services firefighters doused a bush fire in the village’s Cedar Ridge area.
The Lumby department was called to the scene of a bush fire above Balsam Lane, off Cedar Ridge Street, just after 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29.
“When we arrived, some civilians were attempting to control the fire,” said Lumby Fire Chief Tony Clayton, who estimated the fire size at about 10 metres by 10 metres.
Access to the fire for firefighters was very restricted but Clayton said a bulldozer and excavator nearby were put into action.
“A road was built to the fire, so it was very handy,” he said.
BC Wildfire Services sent a crew of three on the ground to assist the village fire department and civilians. Air tankers were in place overhead, but Clayton said nothing was dropped as there was enough manpower on the ground to handle the blaze.
“By dark, it was safe to leave the scene overnight,” said Clayton. “We will have one of our crews back on the scene today (Sunday).”
Fire cause determination is still being done with the Ministry of Forests assisting in that capacity.
The Lumby Fire Department was called to a blaze around 4:30 p.m. off Cedar Ridge Road on Sunday, Aug. 23, and when they got to that scene, there was a half-dozen members of the public carrying water up to the fire in pails, which drew Clayton’s praise.
That fire was in the bush, approximately a quarter of a kilometre from the nearest home, on private property, and was about two metres by two metres in size.
In both cases, the Lumby Fire Department was able to use its new bush truck to help combat the fires.
“It helped big time,” said Clayton.
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