Campbell River Fire Department crews attended a fire in the Nunns Creek area, just around the lunch hour on June 12.
“It was a resident who noticed white smoke coming from this area,” said Campbell River Fire Department Deputy Chief Kelly Bellefleur. “Our crews were notified to investigate.”
READ MORE: City of Campbell River imposes fire ban beginning June 8
Crews discovered an approximately 20-by-20-foot area in an encampment at approximately 800 feet into the bush, in the area just behind the Paramount Music Hall, located on 1140 Ironwood Street.
“An encampment area had caught fire,” said Bellefleur. “It was partially burned down, and had spread to the stumps as well. The root systems in the duff are all burned.”
The crew of 13 firefighters were able to quickly subdue the fire.
“Right now, we’ve got the fire well in hand,” said Bellefleur. “At this point we’re just trying to get all the hot spots out. If this had happened in the middle of the night, and left unchecked, hard to say what the current situation would be. We were fortunate.”
Bellefleur took the opportunity to remind the public that in the interest of public safety, the city imposed a fire ban beginning June 8.
“It’s an unfortunate situation. If it were a homeowner, a housefire would be different,” said Bellefleur. “But it’s an encampment fire. In the general interest of public safety, open air fires this time of year are not good.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Edward Hitchins
edward.hitchins@campbellrivermirror.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter