A forest fire north of Kaslo that broke out early Monday afternoon when high winds blew a tree onto a power line has been extinguished.
Karlie Shaugnessey with the Southeast Fire Centre says it happened about 13 kilometres north of the village in the Schroeder Creek area. The fire grew to approximately two hectares. Air tankers were sent to douse the fire along with 32 personnel. The fire was declared 100 per cent contained as of 6 p.m. yesterday and is being mopped up today by about 15 personnel.
Although there are homes in the area, the fire didn’t immediately threaten them.
Highway 31 was also closed for a time but Shaugnessy said it was the result of a separate downed power line. The fire department closed the road until hydro crews could arrive.
So far this year, 18 fires have burned 37 hectares in the southeast part of BC — all human-caused except for this latest fire. At this time last year, 22 fires had burned 166 hectares.