Tense moments in Cranbrook with fire in the Community Forest
By Trevor Crawley - Kootenay News Advertiser
Published: July 23, 2008 6:00 AM
Updated: July 23, 2008 1:29 PM
As the summer marches on into the hotter temperatures throughout July and August, the Southeast Fire District is encouraging people to be vigilant and aware of the dangers of wildfires. Fire Information Officer Adam Brayford says that over the last seven days, there have been 21 fires in the Cranbrook Zone.
"Currently, there are no active fires, but that region is quite active," he explains. Brayford says that of those 21 fires, 17 were caused by lightning strikes. "Wildfire season is gearing up; there are high temperatures and low humidity which make the conditions ripe."
On July 17, just after 3 pm, a fire was discovered up in the Cranbrook Community Forest. An initial attack crew responded right away. The cause for the fire is still under investigation, however, the blaze has been extinguished and only covered an area of 0.2 hectares. In extinguishing the fire, an aircraft doused the area with retardant to help the crews prevent the flames from spreading.
Other fires that flared up in the last few days happened in Erickson Creek, reaching a size of 0.6 hectares. Out on Chipka Ridge, a fire reached a size of 0.2 ha and in Gold Creek, a fire was extinguished after reaching 0.09 ha. Out at the Canadian Rockies International Airport, a fire clocked in at 0.4 ha before it was put out by an initial attack crew. All fires were determined to be caused by lightning strikes.
"When you look at the average over the year, the number of fires caused by lightning and people is split at fifty," explains Brayford. He adds that with current conditions, open fire restrictions have been put in place to minimize wildfires. "People can still have small campfires, but it is so important to fully extinguish them when they leave their campsite," he emphasizes. The large fire south of Edgewood was caused by an abandoned campfire, Brayford says, and it does not take much for parts of the forest to burn. Use water and dirt to put the fire out and before you leave, make sure that any embers are cool to the touch.
