The BC Wildfire Service is responding to a small wildfire that has been identified near Comox Lake in Cumberland.
On Monday (June 28) around 10:30 a.m., a fire was reported and the Cumberland Fire Department assisted in the call. According to the B.C. Wildfire Dashboard, the fire is human-caused and is approximately 0.01 ha in size.
“It was a spot fire and we are working with the Cumberland Fire Department and it is already under control,” said Dorothy Jacobsen, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre, who added a crew and an officer were sent to the fire.
RELATED: Vancouver Island open fire prohibition takes effect June 23
Currently, there are 16 active fires in the province, up to eight in the last two days.
Jacobsen noted the centre is seeing a lot of fires started by vehicles or by cigarettes being tossed out of car windows, both of which are exceptionally dangerous during the current heat wave gripping the province.
“We are asking the public to please be very, very cautious right now. A fire would spread very quickly.”
Category 2 and Category 3 open fires are prohibited throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction with the exception of Haida Gwaii. Category 2 and 3 open fires will not be prohibited in Haida Gwaii.
These categories generally include larger industrial burns and outdoor burning.
Anyone planning on having a campfire should not leave it unattended, have at least eight litres of water nearby and ensure it is cool to the touch when putting it out.
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