A man has admitted he caused a grass fire that threatened a business on the Penticton Indian Band Sunday.
“There was a gentleman who was living or camping in a field nearby. He has accepted responsibility for starting that fire,” said deputy fire chief Dennis Smith. “Apparently he was burning something in a burning barrel or camp stove.”
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| The fire at Maurer Log Homes did destroy one building but did not burn into the actual operation. Submitted photo |
The fire, which broke out just before 11:30 a.m. Sunday, June 24, was burning behind Maurer Log Homes, next to the Okanagan River Channel. It consumed an old structure near the business and was racing through the grassy field, propelled by wind and raising a dark column of smoke over the valley.
Capt. Glen Beierle of the Penticton Fire Department said they got a good look at the blaze as they were responding down the Channel Parkway, observing “a lot of flames moving from the south to the north,” prompting a call for a second alarm on the fire.
Both the PFD and the band’s fire department responded to the fire, which was soon brought under control. Considering that the wind was blowing the flames towards the dried wood in the log home construction yard, Beierle said the fire could have been much worse.
“Fortunately, there wasn’t a lot of fly ash, so we just tried to stop the advance from getting into this,” said Beierle, referring to the piles of waste bark and scrap wood around the log home construction. The wind was blowing the flames north, toward the dry wood piles.
“It stayed mostly in the grass. We got lucky that way,” he said. “We had some vehicles, some trailers, some other stuff that was starting to get involved, that could have made things a lot worse.”
Since there is no fire hydrant in the area, firefighters were forced to shuttle water in from the nearest hydrant on Fairview Road.
Firefighters remained on scene for a time to mop up any hotspots and monitor the situation, but the blaze is now considered extinguished.
Steve Kidd
Senior reporter, Penticton Western News
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