Firefighters from Sahtlam and Lake Cowichan departments were called out about 8 a.m. Thursday morning to fight a blaze in the bush near Cowichan River Provincial Park.
Riverbottom Road was crowded with fire trucks as crews started preparations to haul water pools out to the site. Tanker trucks stood ready to supply them.
According to Dorothy Jacobsen of the BC Coastal Fire Centre, “the fire on Riverbottom Road is within the Sahtlam Fire Department’s jurisdiction. We are assisting with an initial attack crew and an officer and they are on scene.
“That fire is about half a hectare in size. It’s hard to know when it started. The first report we got was about 7 o’clock this morning.”
Jacobsen said she had no information yet about what might have caused the fire.
Some campers from the provincial park, having heard about the fire, were making an early departure, just in case.
Smoke hung in the air among the many trees in the area, and a strong smoke smell was noticeable as far away as Gibbins Road, eliciting many comments from area residents on Facebook, who had noticed it upon arising.
Jacobsen also said that there were no plans to lift the campfire ban in the Cowichan Valley.
“There has been so little rain on the south Island. It would definitely not be for this weekend. We are waiting for some significant rain in the rain gauge and then we will look at it,” she said.
More information as it becomes available.
