The fire department is investigating the cause of a brush fire sparked near Oasis Friday afternoon.
Captain Jason Langman reports the call of a fire on Highway 22 came into Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue shortly after 2 p.m., June 2.
A crew of six from Station 374 Trail responded to the call, and upon arrival, found a brush fire described by Langman as approximately 50 feet by 50 feet.
The fire was contained and extinguished in under 15 minutes.
No structures were nearby.
According to the BC Wildfire Service, most wildfires in B.C. are started by lightning strikes. When lightning strikes an object it can release enough heat to ignite a tree or other fuels.
Although lightning caused fires cannot be prevented, there are ways of predicting where they might start. The risk from natural fires can also be reduced with fuel management and prescribed burning.
Aside from lightening, many fires in B.C. are human-caused.
BC Wildfire Service says the most important thing about human-caused wildfires is that they are preventable.
People start wildfires in several ways, either by accident or intentionally. For example: vehicle and engine use; industrial activity; fireworks, sky-lanterns, outdoor flame lighting; and discarding burning items, such as cigarettes.
Provincial wildfire status update – June 1
After a brief respite, conditions across the province are beginning to warm, and temperatures continued to rise over the weekend. Despite green-up, drought-like conditions persist and there is little precipitation in the forecast.
There have been six new fires in the last 48 hours, and Donnie Creek (near Fort St. John) remains the only fire of note in the province.
Wildfire activity across Canada is increasing, with 1,802 fires across the country so far this year. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) is now at a preparedness level of five with persistent challenges in Alberta and new starts in Nova Scotia.
Alberta continues to require international resources, including crews from the United States, Australia and South Africa. BC Wildfire Service continues to support and is deploying one Incident Management Team and two unit crews.
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