Crews confirm brush fire in Indian Arm human-caused
Posted May 31, 2015 4:27 pm.
Last Updated May 31, 2015 4:31 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ANMORE (NEWS1130) – BC Hydro says there’s no public safety risk as crews battle a brush fire in Indian Arm, near the old Buntzen Lake power station.
Spokeswoman Mora Scott says the fire is not affecting the decommissioned station and the blaze is burning away from picnic areas and trails. She says BC Hydro has been told the fire is about the size of a house, but crews have made significant progress and are hopeful it will be contained today.
The Sasamat Volunteer Fire Department confirmed a blaze was underway but could not immediately provide details on its size or cause.
Marg Drysdale of the BC Wildfire Management Branch says it has not taken over firefighting operations but is assisting with two initial attack crews and one helicopter.
“We know that it wasn’t caused by lightning. There was no lightning in the area and so we know that it was human-caused. We will go in and do an origin and cause investigation on that,” she explains. “Anybody who lights a fire actually can get a ticket, if they are convicted in court they can be fined up to a $100,000 and or up to one year in jail.”
She adds if you actually cause a wildfire, you could face a penalty of up to $10,000 in order to pay for all of the firefighting costs.
The Vancouver Police Department’s marine unit is also assisting with the fire, and posted photos on twitter of large clouds of white smoke billowing from trees along the shore.
