A brush fire on West Shawnigan Lake Road on the afternoon of July 16 was quickly extinguished by firefighters from the Shawnigan Lake fire department.
Fire chief Keith Shields said the department was called to the scene of the fire, which covered an approximately 70 by 70 foot area along the side of the road just after the turnoff to Sooke Lake Road, when they arrived at approximately 4 p.m.
Shields said conditions were very dry and the fire had made its way to the top of many trees in the area.
“Sparks went across the road about 100 feet and started a few other small fires before we put them out,” he said.
“The grass looks green, but it’s still very dry right now. We managed to get the fire under control quickly and we had it out and back to the department by 7 p.m.”
Shields said that, by its proximity to the road, he suspects the fire was started by a discarded cigarette butt.
“People should be aware that’s it’s really dry right now so they should be careful about how they deal with their cigarette butts, and any other fire-related activities,” he said.
“Due to the conditions, a campfire ban will be put in place at noon on the July 18.”
