On a walk around his Pebble Crescent property at about 8:20 p.m. on Sept. 10, Paul Nash noticed an ominous orange glow in the sky. He rushed down Neptune Street to get a better view and heard “a siren on the way” to a second large fire within a month along the hydro line area near Hightide Avenue, Nash told Coast Reporter via email. An earlier blaze occurred in the vicinity on Aug. 11.
Fire Department response
Sechelt Fire Department Assistant Chief Dwight Davison reported that he and 22 other department personnel responded to a callout to the blaze at 8:16 p.m. and that no infrastructure, buildings or debris from temporary shelters in the area was involved in or damaged by the blaze.
“We were on-scene with three pieces of firefighting apparatus and two duty vehicles within minutes. The initial size of the fire was 70 feet by 30 feet and it was approximately 300 feet from the roadside. The fire was extinguished nine minutes after the first arriving engine,” he explained.
“Once the crews established a water supply and a perimeter they held the fire in check and quickly extinguished it.”
Crews stayed at the site for about 45 minutes after the fire was out conducting overhaul operations to ensure complete extinguishment, turning over and wetting down the ground as the fire had been burning in an area of dry brush and plants. They also cut a swath that encircled the fire area about 75 feet by 50 feet to remove potential fuel.
Some of those camping in the area “self-evacuated” upon the arrival of the department and the fire was kept at least 150 feet from those temporary homes, according to Davison.
“RCMP were called, but I don’t believe they made it on scene as they were busy with other things and we did not request an ambulance because there were no civilian casualties involved,” he noted. There were no injuries to the fire crews.
As of Sept. 12 the fire’s cause is believed to be human but that remains under investigation.
Campers in the area a concern
Continued camping in the area of the hydro lines, the Fortis natural gas line right of way and the supportive housing complex on Hightide remains a concern for Nash. He said he there had also been a fire in the area on the August long weekend and that over the past two years, he has personally reported three such incidents. In his email he wrote, “If you look near the base of the two large hydro poles you can see that there has been a campfire there before. A campfire fire on top of a high-pressure gas line and next to cedar poles for high voltage hydro lines – what could possibly go wrong?”
"Fires are bad anywhere, but on the hydro and gas line ROW they become a serious public safety hazard, which is why they are prohibited by both Hydro and Fortis...There has also been a camp in the marsh park just next to the Fortis gas plant on Trail Avenue, several camps in Sechelt Marsh and even one in the trees between Sechelt Marsh and the Water Resource Centre and most of these have evidence of a campfire. It is only a matter of time before one gets really out of hand."
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
