A pair of grass fires on Tuesday afternoon in Maple Ridge serve as a reminder that current weather conditions demand public caution.

There was a fire along the Lougheed Highway, near Tamarack Lane just before 3 p.m. Minutes later, a second fire was reported nearby, on Hinch Trail.

Stephen Danic said he and his wife were riding electric vehicles near Hinch Trail when they spotted the fire and called 9-1-1. Firefighters were quickly on scene, and got the fire out, he said.

“It was put out quickly, but it could have been a lot worse if we hadn’t come along when we did. The fire appeared to be spreading quickly even in the short time between discovery and fire department arrival,” he said.

The fire along the Lougheed Highway caused traffic to back up, as firefighters needed to close one westbound lane to fight the blaze. It covered a strip almost 100 metres long.

Maple Ridge Fire Rescue deputy chief Geoffrey Spriggs said the entire province is on higher alert due to increased risk of wildfires.

“It’s very hot, very dry and conditions are right for fires to start a lot quicker than people expect,” he said, and urged the public to be “super careful” in areas with dry grass or other combustible material.

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“Nobody wants to see here what we’ve seen in other parts of the of the province already this year,” he added.

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