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Grass fire at Stawamus Reserve doused after two hours

No homes endangered by fire in remote spot near Howe Sound, south of Squamish
stawamus_fire_by_brian_thompson
GRASS FIRE: The smoke from a fire at the Stawamus reserve wafts over Squamish Elementary School on Monday evening, Sept. 3. Photo by Brian Thompson

A grass fire broke out on the Stawamus Reserve south of Squamish around 5:20 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 3, but was put out by 7:45 p.m. said Fire Chief Russ Inouye of Squamish Fire Rescue.

No homes were in danger from the fire, which he said burned a 100m x 100m patch of grass around half a kilometre from the nearest homes.

"We got out our team, did an assessment and initiated a fire attack, and at the same time notified BC Forest Service and requested their assistance. The attended and they brought in a helicopter... and they took over management of the wildfire... by then the fire was extinguished and they watched it overnight and into the morning," Inouye said

Squamish Nation resident Diana Billy had earlier said the fire was behind her sister Donna’s home .

“As long as the wind doesn’t change directions or the reserve is in trouble,” she said.

Billy said the fire was behind and north of Totem Hall, close to the waterfront at Howe Sound, but in a tough place for fire crews to reach because it is near the top of the mountain.

“(There is) no road access and the (fire) helicopter has to go put it out,” she said. “The fire truck tried to get to the fire, but couldn’t get close.”