Twelve members of the Hope Fire Department responded to one of the first wildfires of the season Wednesday, along Union Bar Road.
Around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, crews were called to a fire on a private property along a service road off of the north end of Union Bar Road. Together with a forest protection officer from the B.C. Wildfire Service, the fire department contained the fire within two hours.
“We were able to quickly knock down a fast-moving fire that was moving its way up the slope, so we were able to knock it down and contain it, keep it at bay if you will, probably within two hours,” said Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy, who was on scene Wednesday night.
“Today a wildland fire crew is up there doing patrols at our request…They’re going to come back tomorrow and check it out. It appears to be out.”
The fire department responded to a fire alarm, which turned out to be a false alarm, at the same time as the wildfire situation was ongoing. Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy said this can happen and the fire service ensures they don’t throw all of their resources at one incident should something like this occur.
The wildfire is believed to be human caused and is under investigation. This is not the first wildfire of the season, in March Hope fire crews responded to one along Highway 7.
As the weather warms, DeSorcy warned residents to be careful with backyard burns and disposing of cigarettes as a small fire can quickly turn into a large one.
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