Firefighters tackled two small fires on the north island this weekend. One fire at Atluck Lake, west of Woss, is out now. Ten firefighters worked all night to control another fire in North Tahsis.
“The (Tahsis) fire was reported late Sunday afternoon,” Donna MacPherson told the Times Colonist. She’s the Fire Information Officer with the Coastal Fire Centre. “It’s basically smoking ground with a bit of open flame. Occasionally, tufts of grass or dry materials on the surface catch fire.”
The fires are small but they can still be dangerous. The soil layer is very deep. Large trees found here have big roots, and underground fires can travel along with them.
“Once the fire goes underground, they have to go digging for it,” MacPherson said.
The crew that is working on the Tahsis fire is digging a control line around the fire. They’ll clean out the roots so the fire can’t travel across the line.
“It’s amazing,” MacPherson said. “The crews are getting to these fires fast and they’re getting them out quickly.”
Lightning probably caused the Tahsis fire. A storm passed over the region a couple of days ago.
Firefighters are still monitoring the area in case lightning caused additional fires that haven’t been found yet.
