Wildfire threatens Zeballos

Evacuation alert issued, ‘no safe place to fight the fire from’

The village of Zeballos, home to just over 100 people, has issued an evacuation alert for the east side of the community as a wildfire burns on steep ground nearby.

Some homes are just 200 metres from the blaze, said Zeballos Fire Department volunteer Armin Grunert.

Zeballos chief administrative officer Eileen Lovestrom said precautions are being taken. “It’s close enough that the fire department and the fire crews are wetting down the houses and installing a perimeter sprinkler system,” she said. “It’s very, very steep here and the houses are right up against the hillside.”

Firefighters are also putting water on areas of forest adjacent to homes, Grunert said.

People have been understandably on edge, he said.

“It’s been fairly hectic,” Grunert said. “Fielding a lot of worries, that’s for sure.”

Fishing, kayaking and other outdoor pursuits bring many visitors to Zeballos at this time of year.

“There’s a couple of the fishing lodges that had to relocate their guests offshore here to some floating units they’ve got out there,” Grunert said.

The evacuation alert is one of 48 in place across the province. People affected by alerts need to be ready to leave “at a moment’s notice,” said Kyla Fraser of the Provincial Wildfire Co-ordination Centre.

Lovestrom said that the fire situation is “very rare” for Zeballos, located at the head of Zeballos Inlet on Vancouver Island’s northwest coast. “I’ve been in the area for 40 years. I’ve never seen it, ever. There’ve been forest fires, but they’re forest fires out there — not interface fires.”

Coastal Fire Centre spokeswoman Natasha Broznitsky said the most recent estimate of the fire’s size is 29 hectares.

The fire has been slowly going down a slope, she said.

“The biggest challenge on this fire is that there is currently no safe place to fight the fire from,” Broznitsky said. “So we are working to find areas that crews could access the fire from and work on suppression in a safe manner.”

Not only is the slope a problem but also burning, rolling debris, she said.

Rolling debris has caused much of the latest fire growth and wind is a factor, as well.

Broznitsky said nine firefighters and a helicopter are on-site.

“It’s a bit of a tricky situation because it is in close proximity to Zeballos,” she said. “Our focus is really continuing to protect both first-responder safety and public safety.”

The fire is one of 59, all caused by lightning, currently burning on the north Island.

As of late afternoon Thursday, there were 564 wildfires burning across B.C. The province declared a state of emergency on Wednesday to make resources available to fight the fires and to help people affected by them.

Air-quality alerts have been issued across Western Canada because of smoke from the wildfires. In areas close to the fires, residents reported it was like night during daytime hours, and said there has been a run on face masks to help with breathing.

Thirty-six new fires started between Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon, mostly sparked by lightning, Fraser said.

The greatest area of concern is a corridor between Smithers and Prince George in northcentral B.C., where many of the biggest fires are burning, she said.

Evacuation alerts include these suggestions: • Designate a safe meeting place for family members and co-workers. • Have essential items such as medication, personal papers and glasses ready to go. • Consider moving disabled people or children to a safe location in advance of an evacuation. • Ensure pets and livestock are in a safe spot. • Pre-arrange accommodation for your family. •Turn off sprinklers so that water is saved for firefighting. • Leave a note that says when you left and where you went, perhaps leaving it in a mailbox.