Lightning sparks Strathcona ‘spot fires’
Richmond bog fire burns underground, challenging firefighters
Crews were fighting three small wildfires Saturday in Strathcona Provincial Park that had been sparked by lightning the night before.
A B.C. Wildfire Service crew and a helicopter worked to contain the blazes Friday, said Dorthe Jakobsen, a fire information officer from the Coastal Fire Centre.
“Early evening [Friday] we got a report of a fire in the area. We sent a crew out by helicopter and they found three lightningstrike fires roughly seven kilometres west of the Myra Falls mine in Strathcona park,” Jakobsen said Saturday.
“The helicopter did some bucketing and the crews worked on the fires until late in the night.”
On Saturday, two more crews and another helicopter were sent out.
Jakobsen described the fires as “very small lightning fires — spot fires, really.”
She said the fires are in a remote area and no structures or community was at risk.
Overnight, though there were no changes in the size of the fires, “they’re classified as out of control right now. We’re hoping to hear news on that as the day progresses, but we’ll see how the suppression efforts work out.”
Jakobsen said there have been 80 lightning-caused fires so far this year, which is in line with the 10-year average.
She said the fire-danger rating is nearing extreme and asked people to respect campfire bans that are in place.
“There are open fire prohibitions in place in all of the Coastal Fire Centre except for the fog zone,” a two-kilometre strip along the Island’s north and west coasts. “Haida Gwaii can still have campfires, but no fires are allowed anywhere else.”
Meanwhile, a heat warning has been issued by Environment Canada for Greater Victoria, the Southern Gulf Islands and east Vancouver Island.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 29 C today as a prolonged stretch of above-normal temperatures persists through the weekend as a result of a ridge of high pressure offshore.
Authorities are reminding people to take precautions to protect themselves from the heat, including: • Staying hydrated by drinking cold beverages, preferably water. • Spending several hours every day in an air-conditioned facility. • Avoiding sunburn by staying in the shade and using sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. • Never leaving anyone, and especially children or pets, in a parked car.
Effects of heat to watch for include swelling, rash, cramps, fainting, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and the worsening of some health conditions.
Heat warnings are issued when very high temperature or humidity conditions are expected to pose an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.
In Richmond, officials said a wildfire that broke out early Friday in the Vancouver suburb presents a more hidden challenge for crews than some of the blazes burning across the rest of the province.
Deputy Chief Kevin Gray of the Richmond Fire Department said on Saturday that because the fire is burning through a marshy wetland of dead plant life and moss, flames aren’t necessarily visible above ground.
“The fire burns down in the peat, so down around the bases of some of the roots it’ll burn holes,” Gray said.
Those burnt-out roots can then create pockets in the ground called ash pits, which are well-hidden and can cause significant injuries to firefighters and anyone wandering in the area.
Gray said the ground around the pits can be deceptively soft and can run very deep, adding the initial fall might not be the worst outcome.
“With some ash pits we’ve seen them up to six feet [deep], so you can injure an ankle or a leg,” he said. “Then with that fall, you fall over and put your hands into burning terrain.”
Other than a few cuts, bruises, and splinters, Gray said none of the 60-person crew made up of the Richmond Fire Department, BC Wildfire Service, and Canadian Armed Forces members had sustained any injuries so far.
The fire’s northern border is near Canadian Forces Base Colonel Sherman Armoury, and Gray said a dozen members of the armed forces stepped in to help.
Gray said weather conditions Friday night were helpful for the crews battling the blaze, allowing them to continually drench potential kindling for the fire, such as dead grass and dry wood.
Gray said the crew is on schedule with their objectives for the fire, but he would likely have a better idea of how long the fire could burn by the end of Saturday.
“Overall we’re managing it quite well,” he said.