A human-caused fire six kilometres up the Comox Main is under investigation, according to Coastal Fire Centre fire information officer Marg Drysdale.
“It is a human-caused fire and it is under investigation,” said Drysdale of the 5.8 hectare fire.
According to the BC Wildfire Service, “40 per cent of wildfires in British Columbia are person-caused by activities such as open burning, the use of engines or vehicles, dropping burning substances such as cigarettes, or any number of other human-related activities that can create a spark or a heat source sufficient to ignite a wildfire.”
The fire is in the mop-up stage, Drysdale said.
“We have 23 firefighters, one officer, 3 water tender [trucks] and one excavator,” she said.
The site is owned by Island Timberlands, who also have firefighting apparatus on the go, Drysdale said. Despite doubling in size on the weekend, crews are making good progress.
The Comox Main is currently the only active wildfire in the Coastal Fire Centre and the first one in the Alberni Valley region in 2016. In July 2015, the Dog Mountain fire caused evacuation orders and burned over 400 hectares of forest on the Sproat Lake peninsula.
Due to a summer much wetter than the one prior, much of the province is only on a moderate fire danger rating. The Alberni Valley is currently at a high fire danger rating. Open burning is banned but campfires are permited and logging is unrestricted. A campfire must be half a metre by half a metre or smaller.
To report a wildfire, call 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on a cell phone.
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