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Extreme fire hazard warnings for Whistler

Small fire on Garbanzo likely caused by smoker

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