Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: June 18, 2009 6:00 PM
Wildfire season is here and that has emergency officials on alert. The fire danger rating is currently high in the Vernon area, and while there has been some precipitation, the ground conditions locally are extremely dry. “We’re not seeing the precipitation we would like to see,” said Lindsay Carnes, an information officer with the B.C. Forest Service. On Tuesday, a lightning strike started a blaze on Eastside Road near Ellison Provincial Park just after 4 p.m. “Forestry got at it quick and then we got there and knocked it down,” said Kelly Camalush, a captain with the Okanagan Landing Fire Department. The blaze was contained at one hectare in size but there was the potential for the situation to escalate. “It started out as a grass fire and it changed pretty quick,” said Camalush, referring to trees. “It could have got pretty bad.”
The Forest Service responded to the scene with ground crews as well an air tanker and a helicopter bucketing retardant and water. “We do aggressively action any fire and because homes were in the vicinity of this one, we took that into consideration,” said Carnes. None of the nearby structures were damaged. As a result of Tuesday’s incident, residents are being asked to be fire safe particularly with cigarette butts, camp fires and sparks from all-terrain vehicles. “People need to be very cautious,” said Carnes.
In the Kamloops Fire Centre, which includes the North Okanagan, about 60 per cent of wildfires are started by lightning and 40 per cent are a result of human activity. “People need to be aware that when we respond to human-caused fires, it detracts resources away from lighting-caused fires,” said Carnes. Also responding to Tuesday’s fire were members of the Vernon Fire Department.
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