A smoker who threw his cigarette out the window of a gondola
cabin was likely the cause of a fire on Whistler Mountain on Tuesday in the
Tower 21 area.
The fire was reported at 3:08 p.m., and a joint operation
involving mountain staff from lift maintenance, bike park patrol and snowmaking
that were trained in fire suppression were on the scene almost immediately.
With patrol director Wayne Coughlin assuming the role of incident commander,
the fire was pronounced out and under control at 3:28. Whistler Fire Rescue
Services, Blackcomb Helicopters, and the B.C. Forestry Service were notified
immediately, and placed on standby in case the fire got out of control.
Also in Whistler, fire services has been called out to deal
with two campfires since Monday that have been left smouldering — one in
the Lost Lake area, and another in the Wedgemont area north of Emerald Estates.
While all of the incidents were minor, they underline the fact
that the fire hazard rating in the Whistler area has been shifting from high to
extreme and back again regularly over the past few weeks. One of the driest
Junes on record — just 12 millimetres of rain compared to an average of
60 mm — and a dry start to July, are contributing to the extreme fire
hazard rating which had been in place for five days as of Wednesday.
Despite the conditions, the Coastal Fire Centre was battling
just one fire on Vancouver Island this week, while watching a handful of other
sites where fires have been extinguished.
The elevated fire hazard prompted the B.C. Forest Service to
recall two tankers and a spotting aircraft from California last week, as well
as request three additional tankers and another spotting aircraft from the
Yukon.
“It’s a general preparedness thing that’s province wide,” said
Breana Carey, fire information officer for the Coastal Fire Centre. “We want to
make sure we’re ready if conditions stay the same, with elevated risks around
the province.”
Carey says the hazard rating fluctuates daily based on
temperatures, precipitation, wind and humidity. The availability of ready fuel,
like trees killed by the pine beetle infestation, also impacts the rating.
“Right now we have an extreme fire danger rating for the
Whistler area, which means fires have the potential to spread fast and burn
forests, and that fires are easier to start and harder to stop with the
difficult conditions,” she added. “We’re on patrol, making sure no hot spots
reignite, and we’re watching developments closely.”
The extreme hazard warning also means outdoor campfires in
certain areas are not allowed, nor are wood barbecues and all other types of
outdoor burning.
As of Monday, it also means restrictions for construction work
crews.
According to assistant fire chief Geoff Playfair, work crews
cannot use heavy machinery or tools with small engines inside the forest
interface or within 10 metres of a forested are. Electric tools are allowed at
this point, and tools with engines are allowed inside of built structures that
are within 10 metres of the forest.
“For example, chainsaw work can’t take place if it’s powered by
gas, but if the crew had a generator 15 metres away and ran a power cord on an
electric chainsaw that would be allowed,” said Playfair.
In all cases, Playfair is urging common sense.
“If construction people are aware of smokers on site, they
should designate somewhere to smoke so people don’t go and sit on logs in the
shade of the forest. Common sense should be applied, and all fire sources
should be eliminated on the job site,” he said.
“As far as the public and recreation go, the more people out
recreating the better because it gives us more sets of eyes. People usually
carry cell phones these days so they can quickly get hold of us, and they carry
water they can use to put a fire out or help get it under control.
“As long as the trails are open — and there is a
possibility that later in the summer they will be closed — people are our
best eyes and ears out there. For the one in a hundred that might cause
problems there are another 99 that will catch them.”
Playfair noted that even the most benign activity could be
risky, as pop bottles and cans have been known to start fires by focusing the
suns rays. Even prescription sunglasses left sitting on the grass at the right
angle to the sun can start fires.
Human activity is the main cause of forest fires this season.
As of Tuesday, fire crews around the province have responded to 762 fires, 41
per cent of which were caused by lightning strikes, and 57 per cent caused by
people.
“We want people to be aware of the increased risk,” Carey said.
“We are asking people to be careful with all of their forest activities, so
anything from camping to ATVing.”
Brian McIntosh, a fuels management specialist with the Coastal
Fire Service, said some of the areas most vulnerable to forest fires are those
that have been hit by the mountain pine beetle, an insect that mines the area
between a tree’s bark and its wood, blocking its supply of nutrients and
killing it.
McIntosh singled out the highway from Whistler to Pemberton as
just one of the areas with trees affected by the pine beetle.
“Certainly one of our concerns that’s of higher risk, is where
we have pine beetle infestation,” he said. “Anywhere we can have a fire start
near communities (it) is certainly our mandate to protect public life and
property.”
He also identified valley bottoms and anywhere with road access
or public access as areas of concern.
McIntosh said the fire danger rating wavers from day to day,
going from extreme one day to moderate the next. He also said that certain
materials in the forest, dubbed “forest fuels,” can help trigger fires.
Those materials include “surface fuels” such as pine needles
and “ladder fuels” such as low-hanging branches that can carry a fire up into a
tree.
McIntosh identified one of the most dangerous fires as a “crown
fire,” in which flames hop from one tree to the next. He said crown fires are
particularly difficult for ground crews to attack and often require air
assistance to put them out.
In 2003, an extended drought resulted in a general closure of
Crown land to recreational activity, including non-motorized recreation like
mountain biking. To date, no such bans are in place this year.
– With files from Jesse Ferreras