By Adam Donnelly

BC Wildfire Service urging caution in hot, dry conditions

May 22, 2018 | 11:37 AM

KAMLOOPS — It was a scary start to the long weekend for residents of the Countryview estates mobile home park on East Shuswap Road. Friday night, a brush fire near the park caused an evacuation of many of the residents; luckily, the BC Wildfire Service was able to extinguish the blaze quickly.

The term ‘too close for comfort’ comes to mind for residents of the Countryview Estates Mobile Home Park on East Shuswap Road. On Friday night around 9:00pm, a fire broke out in the brush less than a kilometre from the park.

“About 10:30 police had everyone begin evacuating, just for our own safety. It wasn’t an order or anything,” Park Groundskeeper Ron Burt explained. “We assembled at the bottom of the fill and let police and forestry take over.”

An initial attack team from the BC Wildfire Service Service responded to the fire and were able to knock down the flames quickly.

“The fire cause is under investigation,” Fire Information Officer Jody Lucius said on Saturday. “The fire is listed as under control at 0.4 hectares. The good news is with it under control, we’d no longer consider that fire a threat to public safety.”

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A BC Wildfire Unit Crew was on scene on Saturday to ensure the fire was fully extinguished. Burt was thankful for the quick response of the emergency responders.

“I just want to make sure the police and the firefighters are recognized for their work,” Burt said.

And with no end in sight for the hot dry weather we’ve been experiencing, Lucius wants to remind anyone enjoying the outdoors to be cautious with their fires.

“The BC Wildfire Service always asks people to be very cautious with fire. However, we are certainly seeing a large number of human-caused wildfires at this time of year, so we do ask for extra caution.”