Firefighters were able to extinguish a 0.06 hectare forest fire in Balfour Regional Park on Thursday and the Balfour/Harrop Volunteer Fire Department is crediting the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s Wildfire Protection Plan which focuses on fuel abatement.
The Balfour/Harrop Volunteer Fire Department was called out to a fire at 6:49 p.m. on Friday to the upper bench of the Balfour Regional Park. Nine members from Balfour and three members from the North Shore Fire department fought the fire for approximately three hours before successfully extinguishing it.
“The fire was burning fairly intense but spread slowly due to the removal of dead and dying trees and fine wood debris from the forest floor,” said Nora Hannon, deputy fire chief of the Balfour/Harrop Volunteer Fire Department, in a media release. “The fuel mitigation completed by the RDCK proved to be successful and assisted in the prevention of the fire growing larger and possibly moving into the community.”
The fire has been deemed suspicious.
As part of the RDCK Wildfire Protection Plan, the regional district will be initiating six more fuel mitigation projects in the fall around the Blewett and Slocan Valley area.
These projects are being funded through contributions from the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and the RDCK.
The regional district would like to encourage the public to visit the BC Wildfire Service website and review the section on Wildfire Prevention, visit bcwildfire.ca/Prevention/.
To report a wildfire or unattended campfire, call 1-800-663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone.