UPDATE: 4:15 p.m.
It may be the first grass fire of the season, but that may have been this fire’s saving grace, the incident commander said.
BX Swan Lake Fire Department Captain Braydon Jones said that 10 firefighters were able to control fire fairly quickly despite the challenge of reaching the fire from McLennan Road. By 4 p.m. Thursday, March 28, less than an hour after arriving on the scene, crews had the fire “well under control.”
“We didn’t need to call any additional resources since we got it under control rather quickly, but any later in the season and we would have had a different story,” Jones said.
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Firefighters were dispatched to the 100 metre by 100 metre grass fire on McLennan Road in the BX near Swan Lake at around 3 p.m. March 28. Jones said the cause of the blaze is not yet known.
“The homeowner was trying to get it under control. We stretched some lines, got a guard around it, got it under control and we’re just in the mop-up stage at this time,” Jones said.
While it may be early in the season, Jones said the conditions are deceptive.
“It’s drier than we think out here – a lot of dust and a lot of dry fuels on the ground still.”
Neighbour Tanna Doyle saw the blaze but didn’t think anything of it given the time of year and nearby snow.
“It was just little. It didn’t look like anything,” Doyle said. “It definitely gives you the shivers.”
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UPDATE: 4 p.m.
The fire has been extinguished.
Update: 3:30 p.m.
Firefighters have knocked down the majority of the Rank 1 grass fire to a ground smoulder and are working on hotspots, a reporter on the scene said.
Three trucks are currently battling the blaze.
There are houses near the fire.
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Update: 3:22 p.m.
Multiple engines have been dispatched to the grass fire north of Vernon.
The blaze is estimated to be 100 metres by 100 metres in size.
More to come.
Original
Fire personnel is on the scene of a visible grass fire on at 7616 McLennan Road.
Two BX Swan Lake Fire Department engines were dispatched shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday, March 28, after the blaze was reported to be near a structure.
Read more: 2018 now B.C.’s worst wildfire season on record
A reporter is on the scene.
More to come.
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