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UPDATE: Helicopters arrive to help battle wildfire near Port Alberni

Beaufort Range blaze third caused by humans since Aug. 5 on Vancouver Island
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Smoke and flames can be seen from a fire in north Cherry Creek, at the top of the Beaufort Mountain Range, at sunrise on Aug. 8, 2018. BC Wildfire Service has personnel at the site. SUSAN QUINN PHOTO

Eleven BC Wildfire Service firefighters and at least two helicopters are battling a five-hectare wildfire in the Beaufort Mountain Range north of Port Alberni this morning (Aug. 8).

“We’ve got 11 of our people on it and two helicopters,” said Fire Information Officer Donna MacPherson from the Coastal Fire Centre. “Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Department is also attending at our request.”

The fire, now listed on the BC Wildfire Map as “Beaufort Range”, broke out in private forest land sometime late Tuesday night, Aug. 7

Social media posts began appearing around midnight as flames could be seen from as far away as south Port Alberni, burning along the power lines.

Port Alberni RCMP members began knocking on doors of homes at the end of Cherry Creek Road at Horne Lake Road somewhere around 2 a.m. to advise people about the wildfire. No evacuation order was given, according to witnesses. The fire did not threaten any homes, although it was initially burning along the ridge in the direction of homes.

Members of the Cherry Creek Volunteer Fire Department initially responded to the fire, and a helicopter flew over the scene to assess the scene for the BC Wildfire Service.

This is the second fire in as many nights that volunteer firefighters from the Alberni Valley have responded to, and MacPherson said people need to pay attention to the extremely dry conditions.

“This is the third suspected human caused fire since Sunday on Vancouver Island,” she said. The Nanaimo Lakes fire, which has grown to 160 hectares, is the third.

“We’re going into lightning at the end of the week so we need people to smarten up,” MacPherson said. “Anybody who does anything in the forest needs to be careful right now.”

BC Wildfire Service reported on Tuesday that the Turtle Lake Road fire east of Great Central Lake, which broke out early Tuesday morning, was considered ‘held’ and shouldn’t spread under the weather conditions at the time. The fire site was increased to 4 ha on the BC Wildfire map because BCWS personnel had walked the perimeter and recorded a more accurate measurement—the fire did not grow, MacPherson said.

Fire information officers said the Turtle Lake fire was deemed to be human caused, but was still under investigation.

READ: Crews make good progress on wildfire near Great Central Lake

editor@albernivalleynews.com



Susie Quinn

About the Author: Susie Quinn

A journalist since 1987, I proudly serve as the Alberni Valley News editor.
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