A forest fire within Tla’amin Nation lands that was at its peak nearly one hectare in size was brought under control over the weekend.
According to Coastal Fire Centre information assistant Gordon Robinson, there was a response from the BC Wildfire Service on the evening of July 9 to the Sliammon Lake fire to assist local firefighters. Provincial crews were on station for about a day and a half.
“It was under control later that night,” said Robinson. He added that the Tla’amin Fire Department continued to mop up after BC wildfire support was no longer required. In addition to a wildfire crew from the province, a helicopter was also mustered.
Robinson said the fire was small, but was in nasty, steep terrain. The fire’s cause is undetermined but human cause is suspected. The source is still under investigation. There was no lightning recorded in the fire’s vicinity at the time of the blaze.
Robinson said with conditions as dry as they are, and things as bad in the interior of BC as they are, the province cannot afford to have any more avoidable fires.
“We really want people to consider what they are doing whenever they are doing any sort of outdoor activity,” said Robinson.
According to a media release from Tla’amin Nation, on July 9 at approximately 5:30 pm, an initial call was received reporting of smoke and potential fire east of Highway 101. The fire was located and a combined task force of Tla’amin Fire Department, enforcement officers, guardian watchmen and members of the BC Coastal Fire Centre, aggressively attacked the fire and brought it under control at approximately 11:45 pm.
“We encourage the exploration and use of our territory by nation members, and visitors to our lands, but we want to remind everyone to be respectful of the land by observing the province-wide fire ban that is currently in place,” stated Tla’amin hegus John Hackett. “I also want to reassure the nation that we are not under an evacuation alert, or an evacuation order.”
With the recent heat wave and dry weather, the forest remains at a high risk for forest fires. Recently, a 2.5-hectare fire at Daniels River was a reminder to the region that fire risks are very real here in qathet Regional District, the release stated.
“The forests are dry,” added Tla’amin fire chief Byron Harry. “We need people to remember that even small sparks could potentially spread and have large consequences. We were lucky that we were able to work with firefighters from the BC Coastal Fire Centre to bring the fire here under control, but it could have been far worse if it wasn’t discovered as quickly as it was.”
The release stated that Tla’amin wants to remind all nation members that if they see a wildfire on the territory, to call *5555 on their cell phone, or 1.800.663.5555 from any phone.
