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Fire near Taylor Arm Park contained: Coastal Fire Centre

Sunday (Aug. 21) night’s thunderstorm caused a wildfire to break out near Taylor Arm Park.
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A fire near Taylor Arm Park smokes up the view of Sproat Lake.

Sunday (Aug. 21) night’s thunderstorm caused a wildfire to break out near Taylor Arm Park.

As of Monday (Aug. 22) morning, the fire was 0.17 hectares, according to Coastal Fire Centre fire information officer Donna MacPherson. The fire is 100 per cent contained and in mop-up stage as of Monday afternoon.

“It’s located on the ridge top between Great Central Lake and the highway,” said MacPerson.

“It’s 2.5 kilometres away from Taylor Arm Park.”

Initial reports for the blaze came in just before 6 p.m. on Sunday night. It was 20 metres by 20 metres at that point.

“It was between a category 1 (smoke) and a catergory 2 (waist high flames),” MacPherson said.

An initial attack crew of six firefighters and a helicopter with a bucket were sent to begin work on the fire last night, stopping only when it became too dark to continue, MacPherson said.

The Port Alberni Thunderbirds were on the fire as of Monday morning.

“We have 21 firefighters and two water tenders on it,” said MacPherson.

The fire’s location on a ridge makes it difficult for firefighters to approach.

“It’s in a heavy timbers area with bony outcroppings,” she said.

“The bony pockets make it hard to fight. It’s in a steep area about 400 metres away from a logging road.”

All open burning, including campfires, is now banned in the Coastal Fire Centre except for the fog zone. The ban applies within the city and the regional district as well.

reporter@albernivalleynews.com

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