Brush fire contained in Highlands

A large brush fire charred about two acres of forest in Highlands on Wednesday afternoon.

Four fire departments and a B.C. Forestry helicopter worked three-and-a-half hours to contain and extinguish the blaze near White Pine Terrace.

Fire crews arrived from View Royal, Langford and Willis Point to help assist the Highlands Volunteer Fire Department.

Highlands resident Thomas Roy was outside sanding his boat when burning embers started landing on him. He saw smoke in the valley about 150 metres away from his home on his neighbour Adam Zaharko’s property.

“Within 15 minutes the fire was full on,” Roy said. “The smoke started billowing up and I was yelling out for the homeowners.”

Roy was the first to call 9-1-1 and then he called his wife Michelle who was out riding horses with a friend about 300 metres from the fire. She had not yet seen the smoke.

Highlands deputy fire Chief Guy Brisebois was the first fire official on scene.

“I called the other departments right away,” he said. “I didn’t want to take any chances.”

There were about 45 firefighters called out around 3 p.m. and they had the fire under control within an hour. By 6:30 p.m. it was largely out and Highlands and Willis Point firefighters continued to mop up until about 8:30 p.m. Brisebois said.

Zaharko said the day before he’d seen a small fire start by spontaneous combustion on his property while he was cutting fire wood in forest. He poured water on it periodically for a few hours and kept checking to make sure it was out. After hours without smoke, Zaharko, a trained firefighter, thought it was extinguished.

“I thought it was done, but it must have been an underground fire,” he said. “Never truly believe it is out. Second checking it is not enough.”

A neighbour called Zaharko and notified him of the fire on the property and he rushed home. The fire took about two of his 12 acres of property.

“I am not too upset, it’ll grow back in a couple years, it’s just under brush,” Zaharko said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

“Right now it is very, very dry. These things are usually started by people being careless,” Brisebois said. “Most of these incidences are human caused.”

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