Comox Fire says the regional mutual aid agreement made a big difference in fighting Saturday’s wildfire.
The brush fire was called in early in the afternoon.
Assistant Chief Jim Lariviere says the memorandum of understanding includes 10 departments and allows for a department to reach out for additional resources, if needed.
Oyster River, Cumberland, Courtenay, Campbell River, and the 19 Wing Fire Department responded to help battle the blaze.
“It’s huge because all those resources, they weren’t engine per say, but they were tankers carrying large amounts of water,” says Lariviere. “The area we were in is an un-hyranted area – there’s no hydrants out there, very narrow roads and largely wooded. Getting those resources – having them and getting them there was very important.”
Two helicopters were also called in from the BC Wildfire Service to assist.
Crews were able to get the blaze contained in a few hours and were back on scene Sunday and Monday looking for hot spots and flare ups.
Lariviere says they are still not sure what sparked the blaze and may not know unless someone comes forward.
He says the fire is a reminder for everyone to be extra cautious right now. “It’s not only the fire bans, but other things that you may not think are that dangerous,” he says. “Throwing a cigarette into the woods or a brush area, if you’re thinking about having fireworks or you have any of those candle lanterns – any of that kind of stuff may seem safe at the time, but if they get away into a bush then it could cause what we had on Saturday.”
Lariviere notes it’s also important for people to call in smoke as soon as it’s spotted, so crews can respond quickly.
